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A  Book  of  Satires 


Horace :  a  medal  of  about  the  Fourth  Century, 
probably  based  on  a  portrait  bust  in  existence  at  that 
time. 


A  Book  of  Satires 

By 
Q.  Horatius  Flaccus 


Edited  by 

Charles  Loomis  Dana 

and 

John  Cotton  Dana 


Elm  Tree  Press  Woodstock  Vermont 
1916 


CONTENTS 

To  Maecenas 

Page 
3 

On  Friendship 

9 

On  the  Art  and  Need  of  Writing  Satires 

21 

Horace's  Trip  to  Brindisium 

37 

A  Walk  and  Talk  in  Rome  B.  C.  34 

55 

Horace's  Friends 

69 

Route  of  Horace  on  his  seventeen  day  trip  across  Italy,  B.  C. 
37,  showing  the  towns  and  villages  at  which  he  stopped. 


Horace : 
Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 


Outfit,  Maecenas,  ut  nemo,  quam  sibi  sortem 
Seu  Ratio  dederit,  seu  Fors  objecerit,  ilia 
Contentas  vivat?  laudet  diversa  sequentes? 
O  !  fortunati  mercatores,  gravis  armis 
Miles  ait,  multo  jam  fradus  membra  labors. 


TO  MAECENAS 

THE  FIRST  SATIRE  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK 

This  first  of  Horace's  Satires  is  highly  esteemed  as  a  literary 
composition,  although  it  is  mainly  plain  preaching.  The  subject  is 
the  discontent  of  man  with  his  lot,  which  discontent  he  attributes 
to  a  desire  to  possess  more  money.  The  part  of  the  satire  in 
which  this  pomt  is  argued  is  not  very  interesting  or  convincmg, 
so  we  omit  it  and  publish  only  the  first  and  leist  portions.  Horace 
was  only  about  thirty  years  of  age  when  he  wrote  this  poem.  It 
is  not  the  kind  of  thing  young  men  compose  at  the  present  time, 
unless  they  are  of  the  clergy.  It  contains  some  up-to-date  senti- 
ments, however.  In  praise  of  a  soldier's  life  he  says :  "A  short 
life  and  a  merry  one  ".  "  They  only  are  happy  who  live  in  a 
city  ",  says  the  farmer  of  Roman  times  and  of  today.  Jealousy 
has  many  proverbs  and  Horace  gives  one :  "  This  man  pines 
away  because  his  neighbor's  goat  gives  more  milk  than  his  own." 
The  conclusion  of  the  satire  contains  wisdom,  poetry  and  truth. 

FABIUS  in  the  Satire  is  the  name  of  some  tiresome  and 

loquacious  person. 

CrISPINUS  was  a  voluminous  writer  of  verse  on  the  Stoic 

philosophy. 

How  is  it  Maecenas  that  no  one  lives  contented  with 
his  lot,  whether  his  own  judgment  led  him  to  choose 
it  or  chance  threw  it  in  his  way  ? 

He  is  always  praising  those  following  another  pur- 
suit. 

"  Happy  merchant  " ,  says  the  soldier,  weighed  down 
by  his  arms  and  exhausted  by  hard  work. 


4  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Contra  mercator,  navim  jactantihus  austris. 
Militia  est  potior :  quid  enim  ?  concurritur :  horae 
Momento,  cita  mors  venit,  aut  victoria  laeta. 
Agricolam  laudat  juris  legumque  peritus, 
Sub  galli  cantum  consultor  uhi  ostia  pulsat 
Ille  datis  vadibus  qui  rure  extractus  in  urbem  est, 
Solos  felices  viventes  clamat  in  urbe. 
Caetera  de  genere  hoc  (  ado  sunt  multa  )  loquacem 
Delassare  valent  Fabium :  ne  te  morer,  audi 
Quo  rem  deducam.    Si  quis  deus,  En  ego,  dicat, 
Jam  faciam  quod  vultis :  eris  tu,  qui  modo  miles, 
Mercator :  tu,  consultus  modo,  rusticus :  hinc  vos, 
Vos  hinc,  mutatis  discedite  partibus.    Eia, 
Quid  statis?  Nolint  Atqui  licet  esse  beatis. 
Quid  causae  est,  merito  quin  illis  Juppiter  ambas 
Iratus  buccas  inflet  ?  neque  se  fore  posthac 
Tam  facilem  dicat,  votis  ut  praebeat  aurem  ? 
Praeterea,  ne  sic,  ut  qui  Jocularia,  ridens 
Percurram ;  (  quanquam  ridentem  dicere  verum 
Quid  vetat  ?  ut  pueris  olim  dant  crustula  blandi 
Doctores,  elementa  velint  ut  discere  prima) 
Sed  tamen  amoto  quaeramus  seria  ludo. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  5 

But  the  merchant,  whose  ship  is  being  tossed  by 
stormy  winds,  cries :  "  The  soldier's  life  is  better :  he 
is  hurried  into  battle  and  at  once  meets  a  quick  death 
or  a  joyful  victory." 

The  learned  lawyer,  when  his  clients  come  at  cock- 
crow knocking  at  his  door,  praises  the  farmer. 

The  farmer,  having  given  bail  for  his  appearance,  is 
summoned  to  town  from  the  country,  and  now  declares 
only  those  are  happy  who  live  in  the  city. 

Examples  of  this  kind  are  so  many,  that  they  would 
tire  even  the  talkative  Fabius,  and  so  not  to  delay  you 
more,  observe  how  I  shall  end  the  case. 

Suppose  a  god  should  say,  "  Come,  I'll  do  what  you 
wish;  you  who  are  now  a  soldier  shall  be  a  mer- 
chant ;  and  you,  now  a  lawyer,  shall  be  a  farmer.  Be- 
gone, now,  and  take  up  your  changed  careers.  What ! 
why  do  you  stand  still  ?  " 

They  all  refuse,  though  they  are  allowed  to  be  made 
happy.  What  reason  is  there  why  Jupiter,  now  pro- 
voked, should  not  inflate  his  cheeks  at  them,  and  declare 
that  he  will  never  again  be  so  gracious  as  to  give  ear 
to  their  prayers.  But  I  will  change  the  subject,  lest  I 
finish  it  smiling  as  though  it  were  all  a  joke.  Though 
what  prevents  one  from  telling  the  truth  with  a  smile ; 
as  good  natur'd  masters  used  sometimes  to  coax  their 
boys  with  candies  to  learn  their  first  lesson?  But,  joking 
aside,  let  us  look  into  serious  things. 

[  Horace  thereupon  begins  an  argument  to  show  the  foolishness 


6  Horace :  Qtiintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

I  Hue,  unde  ahii,  redeo;  nemon  ut  avarus 

Se  prohet  ?  at  potius  laudel  diversa  sequentes  ? 

Quodque  aliena  capella  gerat  distentius  uber, 

Tabescat  ?  neque  se  majori  pauperiorum 

Turbae  comparet?  hunc  atque  banc  superare  laboret? 

Sic  festinati  semper  locupletior  obstat  : 

Ut  cum  carceribus  missos  rapit  ungula  currus, 

Instat  equis  auriga  suos  vincentibus,  ilium 

Praeteritum  temnens  extremes  inter  euntem. 

Inde  fit,  ut  raro,  qui  se  vixesse  beatum 

Dicat,  et  exacto  contentus  tempore  vitae 

Cedat,  uti  conviva  satur,  reperire  queamus. 

Jam  satis  est :  ne  me  Crispini  scrinia  lippi 

Compilasse  putes,  verbum  non  amplius  addam. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  7 

of  saving  money  which  one  cannot  use,  and  the  discontent 
caused  by  its  pursuit,  arguing  the  matter  with  an  imaginary 
defender  of  riches.  He  then  ends  his  Satire  with  a  return  to  the 
first  topic ;  discontent  with  one's  lot.  ] 

But  I  resume  the  subject  which  I  left.  No  man, 
any  more  than  the  miser,  approves  of  his  own  state ; 
but  prefers  to  praise  those  who  follow  different  pur- 
suits. He  frets  because  his  neighbor's  goat  gives  more 
milk  than  his  own.  He  does  not  compare  his  lot  with 
that  of  the  great  mass  of  the  poor ;  but  is  always  striving 
to  surpass  this  or  that  rich  man,  and  the  rich  man 
always  impedes  him,  hurrying  also  to  get  richer.  As  in 
a  race,  the  horse  whirls  along  the  chariot,  as  soon  as  it 
leaves  the  starting  point.and  the  driver  presses  on  to  pass 
the  horses  ahead  of  his  ovsrn,  despising  always  those 
he  has  passed  and  left  among  the  hindermost. 

Hence  it  is  that  we  are  rarely  able  to  find  one  who 
can  say  he  has  lived  entirely  happy,  and  who,  when 
his  time  comes,  quits  this  stage  of  life  with  satisfaction 
like  a  sated  guest. 

But  this  is  enough,  Maecenas,  I  will  not  add  a  word 
more,  lest  you  imagine  I  have  pirated  the  papers  of 
blear-eyed  Crispinus. 


S  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 


Omnibus  hoc  vitium  est  cantoribus,  inter  amicos 
Ut  nunquam  inducant  animum  cantare  rogati; 
Injussi  nunquam  desistant.     Sardus  habebat 
Ille  Tigellius  hoc     Caesar,  qui  cogere  posset. 
Si  peteret  per  amicitiam  patris  atque  suam,  non 


ON  FRIENDSHIP  AND  HOW  FRIENDS 
SHOULD  TREAT  EACH  OTHER 

THE  THIRD  SATII^  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK 

A  year  or  two  before  the  present  verses  were  written,  when 
Horace  was  about  twenty-six  years  old,  he  wrote  a  coarse  and 
rather  scurillous  satire — in  fact  he  probably  wrote  several. 
He  seems  in  the  following  discourse  to  be  a  little  apologetic. 
People,  he  says,  are  often  very  queer ;  he  has  some  minor  faults 
himself ;  friends  ought  to  overlook  or  interpret  kindly  each 
other's  defects.  When  faults  are  trivial,  punishment  should  be 
light. 

He  digresses  for  a  time  in  order  to  discuss  a  doctrine  of  the 
Stoics,  which  he  thinks  academic  and  impractical,  and  he 
announces  himself  as  an  opportunist : 

"  utilitas,  justi  pTope  mater  et  aequi " 

TTie  person  in  the  poem  whose  defects  of  character  are  set 
forth  as  introduction  and  text  is  a  certain  Tigellus,  a  famous 
Sardinian  singer  and  a  favorite  of  Caesar,  Cleopatra  and 
Antony.  We  know  nothing  more  about  him,  but  Horace's 
description  shows  that  he  had  the  artistic  temperament  very 
highly  developed. 

Horace  took  his  friendships  much  more  seriously  than  he  did 
his  love  affairs,  and  he  now,  while  quite  a  young  man,  shows 
how  friendships  can  be  made  and  kept. 

It  is  the  fault  of  all  singers  that  they  are  never 
inclined  to  sing  when  they  are  invited ;  but  when  not 
asked  they  will  sing  on  forever.  This  was  the  case 
with  Tigellus,  the  Sardinian.  Caesar  could  have 
ordered  him  to  sing,  but  if  he  ever  asked  him,  on  the 


/  0  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Quicquam  prqficeret:  si  collihuisset,  ah  ovo 
Usque  ad  mala  citaret,  lo  Bacche  !  modo  summa 
Voce,  modo  hac,  resonat  quae  chordis  quatuor  ima. 
Nil  aequale  hominifuit  illi:  saepe  velut  qui 
Currebat  fugiens  hostem ;  persaepe  velut  qui 
Junonis  sacra  ferret ;  hahehat  saepe  ducerjtos, 
Saepe  decern  servos :  modo  reges  atque  tetrarchas. 
Omnia  magna,  loquens :  modo,  Sit  mihi  mensa  tripes, 

et 
Concha  salts  puri,  et  toga  quae  defendere  frigus, 
Quamvis  crassa,  queat     Decies  centena  dedisses 
Huic  parco  paucis  contento,  quinque  diebus 
Nil  erat  in  loculis :  nodes  vigilabat  ad  ipsum 
Mane,  diem  totum  stertebat;  nil  fuit  unquam 
Sic  impar  sibi.   Nunc  aliquis  dicat  mihi,  Quid  tu  ? 
Nullane  habes  vitia  ?  Imo  alia,  et  fortasse  minora. 
Maenius  absentem  Novium  cum  carperet ;  Heus  tu, 
Quidam  ait,  ignoras  te  ?  an  ut  ignotum  dare  nobis 
Verba  putas  ?  Egomet  mi  ignosco,  Maenius  inquit. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  1 1 

ground  of  his  own  and  his  father's  friendship,  he  would 
be  refused.  When  Tigellus  himself  was  so  disposed, 
however,  he  would  chant  "  lo  Bacche  '\  from  egg  to 
apple,*  now  in  his  highest  pitch,  now  in  that  which 
resounds  to  the  deepest  note  of  the  tetrachord. 

There  was,  indeed,  no  one  quite  like  this  fellow.  He 
would  often  rush  along  the  streets  as  if  flying  from 
enemies ;  more  often  he  stalked  along  as  if  bearing  the 
sacred  emblems  of  Juno.  He  was  followed  sometimes 
by  two  hundred  slaves — sometimes  by  ten.  Now  he 
declaims  of  kings  and  tetrarchs  and  everything  magnifi- 
cent ;  now  he  cries :  "  Give  me  only  a  three-legged 
table,  a  shell  of  pure  salt,  and  a  toga  which,  though 
coarse,  will  protect  me  from  the  weather. "  Yet  should 
you  give  a  million  sesterces  to  this  frugal  gentleman,  so 
content  with  modest  things,  in  five  days  there  would 
be  nothing  in  his  purse.  He  would  sit  up  all  night  and 
snore  through  the  whole  day.  There  was  never  anyone 
quite  equal  to  Tigellus. 

Now  some  one  may  say  to  me :  "  What  about 
yourself,  have  you  no  faults  ?  " 

I  admit  faults,  but  of  another  kind,  and  perhaps  less 
serious.  WhenMaenius  was  beginning  to  say  mean  things 
about  the  absent  Novius,  "  Wait  ",  says  one,  "  are  you 
so  ignorant  of  your  own  defects  that  you  think  you  can 
impose  on  us  as  though  we  did  not  know  you  ?  "  "1 
can  find  an  excuse  for  myself  ",  says  Maenius. 

*  From  the  first  to  the  last  course  of  dinner. 


12  Horace :  Quintus  H or  alius  Flaccus 

Stultus  et  improbus  hie  amor  est,  dignusque  notari. 
Cum  tua  pervideas  oculis  mala  lippus  inunctis, 
Cur  in  amicorum  vitiis  tam  cernis  acutumt 
Quam  aut  aquila,  aui  serpens  Epidaurius?  At  tihi 

contra 
Evenit,  inquirant  vitia  ut  tua  rursus  et  illi. 
Iracundior  est  paulo?  minus  aptus  acutis 
Naribus  horum  hominum  ?  rideri  possit,  eo  quod 
Rusticius  tonso  toga  defluit,  et  male  laxus 
In  pede  calceus  haeret?  At  est  bonus,  ut  melior  vir 
Non  alius  quisquam:  at  tibi  amicus:  at  ingenium 

ingens 
Inculto  latet  hoc  sub  corpore.    Denique  te  ipsum 
Concute,  num  qua  tibi  vitiorum  inseverit  olim 
Natura,  aut  etiam  consuetudo  mala;  namque 
Neglectis  urenda  filix  innascitur  agris. 
Illuc  praevertamur ;  amatorem  quod  amicae 
Turpia  decipiunt  caecum  vitia,  aut  etiam  ipsa  haec 
Delectant ;  veluti  Balbinum  polypus  Hagnae. 
Vellem  in  amicitia  sic  erraremus,  et  isti 
Errori  nomen  virtus  possuisset  honestum. 
At,  pater  ut  gnati,  sic  nos  debemus,  amid 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  13 

Such  an  attitude  is  foolish,  unjust  and  deserves  to 
be  condemned. 

You  overlook  your  own  defects  like  a  sore-eyed  man 
with  anointed  lids,  but  you  mark  the  defects  of  your 
friends  as  acutely  as  if  you  had  the  sharp  sight  of  an 
eagle  or  an  Epidaurian  serpent.  It  may  happen  in  turn 
that  these  people  you  criticise  will  inquire  into  your  own 
shortcomings  also. 

A  friend  may  be  a  little  hasty  or  not  very  amenable 
to  the  prodding  [  sharp  noses  ]  of  others.  He  may  be 
laughed  at  because  his  toga  hangs  awkwardly  and  his 
hair  is  cut  clownishly,  or  because  his  shoes  hang  too 
loosely  to  his  feet.  But  he  is  a  good  fellow,  no  one 
better,  and  your  true  friend ;  and  great  talent  lies  con- 
cealed in  his  imperfections. 

Just  try  to  see  whether  nature  has  ever  implanted 
the  seeds  of  any  vices  in  you  or  whether  they  have  not 
been  developed  by  your  evil  habits.  And  remember 
that  the  fern,  fit  only  to  be  burned,  overruns  neglected 
fields. 

You  might  bear  in  mind  also  how  the  blinded  lover 
takes  no  notice  of  the  disagreeable  defects  of  his 
mistress ;  they  even  give  him  pleasure ;  as  the  wart  on 
Agna's  nose  pleases  her  loving  Balbinus. 

I  wish  that  we  might  err  in  friendship  in  this  way,  so 
that  morality  would  give  to  this  weakness  of  our  affec- 
tions an  honorable  name. 

And  as  a  father  does  not  find  fault  with  his  son  if 


M  Horace:  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Si  quod  sit  vitium,  non  fastidire :  stragonem 
Appellat  Pueium  pater ;  et  Pullum,  male  parvus 
Si  cuifilius  est,  ut  abortivus  fuit  olim 
Sisyphus:  hunc  Varum,  distortis  crurihus;  ilium 
Balbutit  Scaurum,  pravis  fultum  male  talis. 
Parcius  hie  vivit  ?  frugi  dicatur.    Ineptus 
Et  jadantior  hie  paulo  est  ?  concinnus  amicis 
Postulat  ut  videatur.    At  est  truculentior,  atque 
Plus  aequo  liber  ?  simplex  fortisque  habeatur. 
Caldior  est?  acres  inter  numeretur.    Opinor, 
Haec  res  et  jungit,  junctos  et  servat  amicos. 
At  nos  virtutes  ipsas  invertimus,  atque 
Sincerum  cupimus  vas  incrustare.    Probus  quis 
Nobiscum  vivit?   Multum  est  demissus  homo:  illi 
Tardo,  cognomen  pingui  damus.    Hie  fugit  omnes 
Insidias,  nullique  malo  latus  obdit  apertum  ? 
(  Cum  genus  hoc  inter  vitae  versetur,  ubi  acris 
Invidia,  atque  vigent  ubi  crimina  )  pro  bene  sano 
Ac  non  incauto,  fictum  astutumque  vocamus. 
Simplicior  quis,  et  est,  qualem  me  saepe  libenter 
Obtulerim  tibi,  Maecenas,  ut  forte  legentem 
Aut  tacitum  impellat  quovis  sermone?  Molestus! 
Communi  sensu  plane  caret,  inquimus.   Eheu 
Quam  temere  in  nosmet  legem  sancimus  iniquam  ! 


The  Satires  for  Modem  Readers  15 

he  has  some  imperfection,  so  we  ought  to  treat  our 
friends.  The  father  calls  his  squint-eyed  boy  a  Poetus 
[  ogle-eyed  ].  If  he  has  a  badly  dwarfed  child  like  little 
Sisyphus,  he  calls  him  his  "  ducky  "  ;  this  one  with 
distorted  legs  he  called  a  Varus ;  that  one  who  is  club- 
footed  he  fondly  calls  a  Scaurus.* 

So  if  your  friend  lives  too  sparingly,  call  him  frugal ; 
if  he  is  untactful,  impertinent  (  impetus  )  and  a  little  too 
boastful,  let  this  make  him  interesting  to  his  friends.  If 
he  is  somewhat  rude  and  more  free  than  is  proper,  just 
look  upon  him  as  a  blunt,  plain  fellow  and  courageous. 
If  he  is  too  passionate,  let  him  be  esteemed  as  a  man 
of  spirit  This  plan,  I  think,  both  makes  friends  and 
keeps  them  as  such. 

But  we  are  inclined  to  the  opposite  and  love  to  turn 
even  virtues  into  defects  and  so  soil  a  clean  vessel.  If 
any  one  lives  with  us  in  an  upright  and  unassuming  way, 
we  call  him  dull  and  fat-headed.  If  a  certain  friend 
avoids  all  snares  and  lays  himself  open  to  no  evil  design 
(  as  is  needful  in  these  days  when  bitterness,  envy  and 
crime  so  flourish  )  we  call  him,  not  simply  sensible  and 
cautious,  but  hypocritical  and  shrewd.  If  any  one  is 
too  unsophisticated  (  as  I  often  showed  myself  to  you. 
not  unpleasantly,  Maecenas),  so  that  he  by  chance 
stupidly  interrupts  one  when  reading  or  silent,  we  say 
that  he  has  no  sense. 

*  Varus  and  Scaurus  were  the  names  of  persons  of  noble 
family  who  had  these  deformities. 


/  6  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Nam  vitiis  nemo  sine  nascitur :  opiimus  ille  est, 
Qui  minimis  urguetur.   Amicus  dulcis,  ut  aequum  est. 
Cum  mea  compenset  vitiis  bona,  pluribus  hisce 
(  Si  modo  plura  mihi  bona  sunt )  inclinet :  amari 
Si  volet  hac  lege,  in  trutina  ponetur  eadenu 
Qui,  ne  tuberibus  propriis  offendat  amicum 
Postulat,  ignoscet  Verrucis  illius.   Aequum  est, 
Peccatis  veniam  poscentem  reddere  rursus. 
Denique,  quatenus  excidi  penitus  vitium  irae, 
Caetera  item  nequeunt  stultis  haerentia ;  cur  non 
Ponderibus  modulisque  suis  ratio  utitur?  ac,  res 
Ut  quaeque  est,  ita  suppliciis  delicta  coercet? 
Si  quis  eum  servum,  patinam  qui  tollere  Jussus 
Semesos  pisces  tepidumque  ligurrierit  jus. 
In  cruce  suffigat,  Labeone  insanior  inter 
Sanos  dicatur.    Quanto  hocfuriosius  atque 
Majus  peccatum  est  ?  Paulum  deliquit  amicus ; 
(  Quod  nisi  concedas,  habeare  insuavis,  acerbus,  ) 
Odisti  etfugis,  ut  Rusonem  debitor  aeris  ? 
Qui,  nisi,  cum  tristes  misero  Venere  Calendae, 
Mercedem  aut  nummos  unde  extricat,  amaras 
Porrecto  Jugalo  historias,  captivus  ut,  audit 
Comminxit  ledum  potus,  mensave  catillum 
Evandri  maribus  tritum  dejecit;  ob  hanc  rem, 
Aut  positum  ante  mea  quia  pullum  in  parte  catini 
Sustulit  esuriens,  minus  hoc  Jucundus  amicus 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  17 

Alas,  how  rash  we  are  to  approve  of  a  practice  that 
works  against  ourselves.  For  no  one  is  without  defects, 
and  he  is  best  who  has  the  least.  When  my  dear 
friend  sets  off  my  good  qualities  against  my  defects,  let 
him,  if  he  wishes  to  be  beloved,  incline  toward  my 
more  numerous  good  qualities  ( if  they  are  more  numer- 
ous ).  He  will  himself  be  treated  after  the  same  rule. 
Whoever  expects  not  to  disgust  a  friend  with  his  own 
wens  should  not  mind  his  friends*  warts.  It  is  only  fair 
that  one  who  asks  pardon  for  his  own  faults  should 
grant  it  to  others.  In  fine,  since  faults  of  temper  and 
character,  innate  in  foolish  mortals,  can  not  be  entirely 
eradicated,  why  not  exercise  our  reason  with  independ- 
ence, and  accord  to  each  case  punishment  according  to 
the  real  degree  of  the  fault  ? 

If  any  one  should  crucify  his  slave,  who,  while  taking 
away  a  dish,  gobbled  up  the  half -eaten  fish  and  tepid 
sauce,  he  would  be  called  by  sensible  people  crazier 
than  Labea. 

But  how  much  madder  and  more  serious  fault  is  this : 
a  friend  is  guilty  of  a  small  error,  which  you  ought  to 
overlook  unless  you  wish  to  be  considered  disagreeable 
and  ill-natured.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  instead  of 
ignoring  it  you  hate  and  avoid  him  as  a  poor  debtor 
does  Ruso. 

As  for  me,  if  a  friend  when  in  liquor  soil  my  couch 
or  throw  down  from  the  table  a  vessel  worn  by  the 
hands  of  Evander;  or  if,  because  he  is  hungry,  he 


18  Horace:  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Sit  mihi?  Quidfaciam  si  farium  fecerit,  aui  si 
Prodiderii  commissa  fide  sponsumve  negarit  ? 
Quis  paria  esse  fere  placuii  peccata  laborant 
Cum  ventum  ad  verum  est ;  sensus  moresque  repug- 
nant 
Atque  ipsa  utilitas,  justi  prope  mater  et  aequi. 


Ignocent  si  quid  peccaro  stultus  amid, 
Inque  vicem  illorum  patiar  delicto  libenter, 
Privatusque  magis  vivam  te  rege  heatus. 


The  Satires  for  Modem  Readers  19 

snatches  chicken  out  of  my  part  of  the  dish,  he  shall 
not  by  this  be  any  less  my  jocund  friend.  Indeed  if  I 
punished  him  for  this,  what  should  I  do  if  he  committed 
a  theft,  or  betrayed  things  committed  to  his  trust,  or 
repudiated  his  bond  ? 

Those  who  are  pleased  to  think  that  all  faults  are 
about  alike  are  in  difficulty  when  they  come  to  practice ; 
in  our  feelings  and  our  conduct  we  reject  such  a  view, 
and  expediency  (  utilitas  ),  which  is  almost  the  mother 
of  what  is  just  and  right,  approves  our  judgment. 

[  Horace  continues  this  Satire  ( II  98- 123)  with  further  criticism 
on  the  Stoic's  view  that  all  faults  are  alike  and  argues  that  laws 
and  human  conduct  should  be  so  arranged  that  appropriate  and 
different  penalties  be  given  according  to  the  character  of  each 
offense.  He  adds  also  some  criticism  of  the  Stoic's  teaching  that 
the  truly  wise  man  has  every  quality  in  him  from  that  of  king  to 
that  of  cobbler.  As  he  presents  the  Stoic's  case  his  criticism  is 
so  obvious  that  I  am  sure  that  his  conception  of  the  real  doctrine 
was  not  a  true  one,  though  it  was  probably  one  emphasized  by 
the  rhetoricians. 

He  concludes  with  a  renewed  exhortation  to  his  friends  to  be 
forbearing  and  charitable.] 

My  dear  friends  will  forgive  if  I  foolishly  commit  a 
fault  and  in  tum  I  shall  cheerfully  put  up  with  their 
faults,  and,  though  only  a  private  citizen,  I  shall  live  more 
happily  than  your  Stoic  king. 


ON   THE  ART  AND    NEED  OF  WRITING 

SATIRES;  ALSO  ON  FRIENDSHIP;  AND 

ON  HIS  EARLY  TRAINING 

THE  FOURTH  SATIRE  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK 

Persons  of  the  Satire 
Ludlius  (  R  C.  148-103  ).  A  Latin  poet  and  writer  of  bitter 

and  violent  Satires,  of  which  we  have  no  remains. 
Eupoiis,  Cralinus  and  Aristophanes  (B.  C.  44 IS 86),  who 

were  the  leading  writers  of  old  Athenian  comedy.    In 

this  form  of  drama  the  characters  and  subjects  were 

representations  from  life. 
Crispinus,  a  poet. 
Sulcius 


,    public  informers 
Caprius 

Puhlius  Capitolinus,  a  man  who  had  been  charged  with  theft. 

A  Ihius,  a  collector  of  bronzes — possibly  the  poet  Albius  Tibul- 

lus. 

Pomponeius,  a  dissipated  youth. 

Caelius  and  Birrus,  robbers. 

Tigellus,  a  professional  singer. 

RufiUus  and  Gargonius,  dandies. 

Patillius  Capitolinus,  formerly  a  governor  of  the  Capitol. 

Trebonius,  a  person  of  low  character. 

Horace  criticizes  the  satires  of  Lucilius  and  defends  his  own 

work  and  methods,  admitting  that  he  is  not  in  them  poetical  and 

that  satire  is  hardly  poetry.    He  denies  that  he  is  malicious  and 


22         Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 


Eupolis  atque  Cratinus  Aristophanesque  poetae, 
Atque  alii  quorum  comoedia  prisca  virorum  est. 
Si  quis  erat  dignus  describi  quod  maius  ac  fur. 
Quod  moechus  foret  aut  sicarius  aui  alioqui 
Famosus,  mulia  cum  lihertate  notahant. 
Hinc  omnis  pendet  Lucilius,  hosce  secutus 
Mutatis  tantum  pedihus  numerisque,  facetus, 
Emunctae  naris,  durus,  componere  versus. 
Nam  fuit  hoc  vitiosus :  in  hora  saepe  ducentos 
Ut  magnum  versus  dictabat  stans  pede  in  uno. 
Cum  flueret  lutulentus,  erat  quod  tollere  velles  ; 
Garrulus  atque  piger  scribendi  ferre  laborem, 
Scribendi  recte :  nam  ut  multum  nil  morror.    Ecce, 
Crispinus  minimo  me  provocat:  "  Accipe,  si  vis, 
Accipiam  tabulas;  detur  nobis  locus,  hora, 
Custodes;  videamus  uter  plus  scribere  possit.  " 
*'  Di  bene  fecerunt,  inopis  me  quodque  pusilli 
Finxerunt  animi,  raro  et  perpauca  loquentis. 
At  tu  conclusas  hircinis  follibus  auras, 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  23 

proceeds  to  show  that  satirical  pieces  are  quite  a  justifiable  type 
of  composition.  He  asserts  the  claims  of  friendship,  and  he 
describes  in  an  admirable  and  tender  manner  his  father's  wise 
method  of  educating  him. 

Horace  wrote  this  piece  soon  after  his  rather  vulgar  and  dis- 
agreeable second  Satire.  A  little  later  he  wrote  the  Tenth, 
perhaps  to  appease  the  admirers  of  Lucilius. 

Eupolis,  Cratinus  and  Aristophanes  and  other  writers 
of  ancient  Comedy  attacked  with  great  freedom  any 
one  worth  attacking  if  he  were  a  rogue,  a  thief,  a  liber- 
tine, a  murderer,  or  infamous  on  any  other  account. 

Lucilius  took  his  methods  from  these  writers,  imitat- 
ing them  and  changing  only  the  feet  and  measure.  He 
was  an  amusing  writer,  a  man  of  keen  wit,  but  rapid  in 
composition,  and  in  this  respect  quite  faulty.  He  would 
often  dictate  two  hundred  verses  standing  up  on  one 
foot — as  if  it  were  a  great  thing.  Sometimes  he  wrote 
vulgarly,  and  put  in  things  one  would  wish  omitted. 
He  was  a  diffuse  author,  but  too  indolent  to  take  the 
trouble  to  write  correctly ;  for  as  to  quantity  I  do  not 
count  that  a  merit.  I  notice  Crispinus  here  offers 
to  bet  me  great  odds  on  this  point :  "  Come,  if  you 
please  " ,  he  says,  "  and  take  your  tablets,  give  us  a  place, 
a  timer  and  judge ;  let  us  see  which  of  us  can  write 
the  more  I " 

The  gods  did  well  when  they  made  me  of  a  modest 
and  retiring  mind,  speaking  rarely  and  few  words.  But 
you,  Fannius,  imitate  the  wind  that  blows  from  the 


24  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Usque  lahorantes  dum  ferrum  molliat  ignis, 
Ut  mavis  imitare.  "   Beatus  Fannius  uliro 
Delatis  capsis  et  imagine;  cum  mea  nemo 
Scripta  legal  volgo  recitare  iimentis  oh  hanc  rem. 
Quod  sunt  quos  genus  hoc  minime  juvat,  utpote  plures 
Culpari  dignos.    Quemvis  media  erue  turba : 
Aui  oh  avaritiam  aui  misera  amhitione  lahorat 
Hie  nuptarum  insanit  amorihus,  hie  puerorum ; 
Hunc  capii  argenti  splendor;  stupet  Alhius  aere; 
Hie  muiat  merces  surgenie  a  sole  ad  eum  quo 
Vespertina  tepei  regio,  quin  per  mala  praeceps 
Ferii  uti  pulvis  collecius  turhine,  ne  quid 
Summa  deperdat  meiuens  aut  ampliet  ut  rem. 
Omnes  hi  metuunt  versus,  odere  poetas. 
**  Foenum  hahet  in  cornu;   longe  fuge:  dummodo 

risum 
Excutiat  sibi  non  hie  cuiquam  parcet  amico  ; 
Et  quod  cunque  semel  chartis  illeverit  omnes 
Qestiet  a  furno  redeuntes  scire  lacuque, 
Et  pueros  et  anus. "    Agedum,  pauca  accipe  contra. 
Primum  ego  me  illorum,  dederim  quihus  esse  poetis. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  25 

goatskin  bellows  and  puffs  away  till  the  iron  melts  in 
the  heat.  You  are  happy,  Fzinnius,  in  parading  your 
works  and  your  bust  in  the  Town. 

Meanwhile  no  one  reads  my  poems,  for  I  am  too 
timid  to  read  them  in  public;  and  there  are  as  few 
people  who  like  my  style  of  writing,  as  there  are  many 
who  deserve  my  criticism.   Why  shall  I  not  criticize  ? 

Take  any  crowd  at  random :  You  will  find  here  a 
man  who  is  grasping  or  unscrupulously  ambitious; 
another  who  is  mad  over  his  love  affairs  or  over  his 
slaves.  Another  is  taken  with  collecting  old  silver,  or, 
like  Albius,  is  enamored  with  his  old  bronzes.  This 
merchant  is  forever  trading  from  the  regions  of  sunrise 
to  those  of  sunset  and  is  carried  along  through  the 
troubles  of  his  career  like  dust  in  the  whirlwind,  always 
afraid  of  losing  his  stock  or  hoping  to  increase  his 
business. 

All  such  people  dislike  my  verses ;  they  hate  the 
satirical  poet  and  say :  "  He  has  hay  on  his  homs  " — 
"  keep  far  away  " .  "So  long  as  he  can  have  his  jest 
he  will  not  spare  his  friend  ".  "  Whatever  he  has 
once  scribbled  he  will  hurry  to  read  publicly,  even  if  it 
is  to  the  boys  and  old  women  returning  from  the 
bakeries  and  the  river  bank." 

But  come  now  and  hear  a  few  words  on  the  other 
side. 

In  the  first  place,  I  except  myself  from  the  list  of 
those  whom  I  would  call  poets ;  for  we  do  not  say  that 


26  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Excerpam  numero:  neque  enim  concludere  versum 
Dixeris  esse  satis ;  neque  si  qui  scribal  uii  nos 
Sermoni  propiora :  putes  hunc  esse  poetam 
Ingenium  cui  sit,  cut  mens  divinior  atque  os 
Magna  sonaturum,  des  nominis  hujus  honorem. 
Idcirco  quidam,  comoedia  necne  poema 
Esset,  quoesivere,  quod  acer  spiritus  ac  vis 
Nee  verbis  nee  rebus  inest  nisi  quod  pede  certo 
Differt  sermoni  sermo  merus.    At  pater  ardens 
Saevit,  quod  meretrice  nepos  insanus  arnica 
Filius  uxorem  grandi  cum  dote  recuset, 
Ebrius  et,  magnum  quod  dedecus,  ambulet  ante 
Noctem  cum  facibus.    Numquid  Pomponius  istis 
Audiret  leviora  pater  si  viveret?   Ergo 
Non  satis  est  puris  versum  perscribere  verbis, 
Quern  si  dissolvas,  quivis  stomachetur  eodem 
Quo  personatus  pacto  pater.    His  ego  quae  nunc, 
Olim  quae  scripsit  Lucilius,  eripias  si 
Tempora  certa  modosque,  et  quod  prius  ordine  ver- 

bum  est 
Posterius  facias,  praeponens  ultima  primis, 
Non,  ut  si  solvas  "  Postquam  Discordia  tetra 
Belli  ferratos  postes  portasque  ref regit  ", 
Ircvenias  etiam  disjecti  membra  poetae. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  27 

to  be  one  it  is  sufficient  to  compose  verses ;  and  if  any 
one  write  as  I  do  things  quite  near  to  prose  you  will 
not  consider  him  a  poet.  You  give  the  honor  of  his 
name  to  one  who  has  genius,  a  divine  mind  and  a 
mouth  that  can  sound  forth  great  things. 

Some  indeed  have  questioned  whether  or  not  comedy 
be  poetry,  for  there  is  no  sublimity  of  spirit  or  force 
either  in  its  form  or  in  its  subjects.  It  is  mere  prose 
except  that  it  has  a  certain  measure.  To  be  sure,  one 
may  say  that  comedy  portrays  the  passion  of  an  angry 
father  raging  because  his  dissolute  son  who  has  gone 
crazy  over  an  unworthy  mistress  and  refuses  to  marry 
a  v^fe  with  a  dower  and  who,  disgracefully  drunk,  runs 
about  with  lighted  torches  before  it  is  dark.  But  this, 
after  all,  is  the  portrayal  of  ordinary  human  experi- 
ence. The  dissolute  Pomponius  would  hear  no  less 
violent  language  if  his  father  were  alive.  Therefore  it  is 
not  sufficient  to  make  verse  wdth  choice  words,  which 
on  analysis  you  will  find  to  contain  only  the  expressions 
any  excited  person  might  use.  If  you  take  from  my 
verses  and  those  of  Lucilius  the  measures  and  rhythm 
and  transpose  the  words  you  will  not  get  such  a 
result  as  when  you  break  up  such  lines  of  true  poetry  as 

"  After  black  discord  broke 
The  iron  bars  and  gates  of  war." 

Here  you  would  find  the  disjected  members  of  real 
poetry. 


28  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Hadenus  haec :  alias  justum  sit  necne  poema. 
Nunc  illud  tantum  quaeram,  meritone  iihi  sit 
Suspectum  genus  hoc  scribendi.    Sulcius  acer 
Amhulat  et  Caprius  rauci  male  cumque  libellis, 
Magnus  uturque  timor  latronibus ;  at  bene  si  quis 
Et  vivat  puris  manibus  contemnat  utrumque. 
Ut  sis  tu  similis  Caeli  Birrique  latronum, 
Non  ego  sum  Capri  neque  Sulci:  cur  metuas  me? 
Nulla  taberna  meos  habeat  neque  pila  libellos, 
Quis  manus  insudet  volgi  Hermogenisque  Tigelli: 
Nee  recito  cuiquam  nisi  amicis,  idque  coactus, 
Non  ubivis  coramve  quibuslibet    In  medio  qui 
Scripta  foro  recitent  sunt  multi  quique  lavantes : 
Suave  locus  voci  resonat  conclusus.    Inanes 
Hoc  juvat,  haud  illud  quaerentes,  num  sine  sensu. 
Tempore  num  faciant  alieno.    "  Laedere  gaudes  ", 
Inquit,  '*  et  hoc  studio  pravus  fads. "    Unde  petitum 
Hoc  in  me  jacis  ?   Est  audor  quis  denique  eorum 
Vixi  cum  quibus?   Absentem  qui  rodit  amicum; 
Qui  non  defendit  alio  culpante ;  solutos 
Qui  capiat  risus  hominum  famamque  dicacis ; 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  29 

So  much  for  this — at  another  time  you  will  see  fur- 
ther whether  or  not  comedy  may  be  poetry.  Now  I 
will  ask  again  this :  whether  you  are  right  to  view  this 
kind  of  writing  with  prejudice. 

Sulcius  and  Caprius  walk  along,  hoarse  from  shout- 
ing their  malevolent  libels;  each  is  a  great  terror  to 
thieves,  but  if  any  one  lives  honestly  and  with  clean 
hands  he  ignores  them  both. 

But  if  you  are  like  the  robbers  Caelius  and  Birrus, 
I  am  not  like  the  informers  Caprius  and  Sulcius.  You 
need  not  fear  me,  for  I  let  no  shop  or  stall  hold  my 
little  books,  nor  over  them  do  the  hands  of  the  common 
herd  or  of  Hermogenes  and  Tigellus  sweat.  I  do  not 
recite  to  any  one  except  my  friends,  and  to  them  only 
when  compelled,  and  not  anywhere  except  before  those 
who  ask.  There  are  many  who  recite  their  writings  in 
the  middle  of  the  market  place,  others  while  bathing — 
the  vaulted  ceiling  re-echoes  pleasantly  the  voice. 
This  charms  the  vain  who  do  not  consider  whether 
they  do  a  thing  without  propriety  and  at  an  inoppor- 
tune time. 

But,  you  say,  I  delight  to  criticise  and  do  it  with 
malicious  purpose.  From  whom  did  you  get  this  idea 
you  ascribe  to  me  ?  Is  the  author  any  one  who  is  inti- 
mate vsrith  me?  Whoever  calumniates  an  absent 
friend,  or  who  does  not  defend  him  when  another 
attacks ;  whoever  raises  groundless  laughter  about  him, 
seeking  the  reputation  of  wit;  whoever  is  willing  to 


30  Horace:  Quintus  H or  alius  Flaccus 

Fingere  qui  non  visa  potest ;  commissa  tacere 
Qui  nequit;  hie  niger  est,  hunc  tu,  Romane,  caveto. 
Saepe  tribus  lectis  videos  coenare  quatemos, 
Equihus  unus  amet  quavis  adspergere  cunctos 
Praeter  eum  qui  praehet  aquam ;  post  hunc  quoque 

potus, 
Condita  cum  verax  aperit  praecordia  Liber. 
Hie  tibi  comis  et  urbanus  liberque  videtur, 
Infesto  nigris.    Ego  si  risi  quod  ineptus 
Pastillos  Rufillus  olet  Gargonius  hircum, 
Lividus  et  mordax  videor  tibi?   Mentio  si  qua 
De  Capitolini  furtis  injecta  Petilli 
Te  coram  fuerit,  defendas  ut  tuus  est  mos. 
"Me  Capitolinus  convictore  usus  amicoque 
A  puero  est  causaque  mea  permulta  rogatus 
Fecit,  et  incolumis  laetor  quod  vivit  in  urbe ; 
Sed  tamen  admiror,  quo  pacto  judicium  illud 
Fugerit.  '*  Hie  nigrae  succus  loliginis,  haec  est 
Aerugo  mera.    Quod  vitium  procul  afore  chartis 
Atque  animo  prius,  ut  si  quid  promittere  de  me 
Possum  aliud  vere,  promitto.    Liberius  si 
Dixero  quid,  si  forte  jocosius,  hoc  mihi  juris 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  31 

fabricate  a  tale  or  even  cannot  keep  silent  over  secrets 
committed  to  him — he  is  black  [  a  dangerous  man  ]. 
Beware  of  him,  Romans. 

You  will  often  find  at  a  banquet  where  twelve 
guests  are  resting  on  their  three  couches,  someone  who 
loves  in  his  way  to  asperse  all  the  rest — except  the 
host  (  ne  qui  praebet  aquam  ) — and  him  also  after  he 
has  drunken  and  truth-telling  Bacchus  opens  the  secrets 
of  his  heart  (  condita  praecordid).  Such  a  man  as  this 
may  seem  to  you,  who  are  so  hostile  to  criticism 
(  nigris  ),  courteous,  wellbred  and  companionable.  If  I, 
however,  tell  the  truth  and  say  that  the  foolish  Rufillus 
smells  of  perfumes  and  Gargonius  of  the  goats  I  seem 
to  you  venomous  and  sarcastic  ( lividus  et  mordax). 

If  any  mention  should  be  made  in  your  presence  of 
the  thefts  of  Capitolinus  Pestillius,  you  defend  him 
after  your  custom.  "  Capitolinus  has  been  my  host, 
and  my  friend  from  boyhood.  He  has  done  many  kind- 
nesses at  my  request  and  I  am  glad  he  is  able  to  live 
safely  in  the  city.  Nevertheless,  I  wonder  by  what 
scheme  he  escaped  that  judgment  against  him."  This 
is  the  essence  of  black  slander,  this  is  the  purest  malice 
(  nigrae  succus  loliginis  haec  est  aerugo  mera).  This  is 
a  crime  which  shall  be  always  absent  from  my  writings 
and  still  more  from  my  heart,  so  long  as  I  can  promise 
anything  about  myself.  If  I  ever  speak  of  anything  too 
freely,  or  perhaps  too  jocosely,  you  should  grant  me  this 
freedom  and  forgive  it. 


32  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Cum  venia  dabis :  insuevit  pater  optimus  hoc  me, 
Utfugerem  exempUs  vitiorum  quaeque  notando. 
Cum  me  hortaretur,  parce,  frugaliter,  atque 
Viverem  uti  conterttus  eo  quod  mi  ipse  parasset : 
" Nonne  vides  Alhi  ut  male  vivatfilius,  uique 
Barrus  inops?    Magnum  documentum  ne  patriam 

rem 
Perdere  quis  velit  '*  A  turpi  meretricis  amore 
Cum  deterreret:  " Scetani  dissimilis  sis." 
Ne  sequerer  moechas  concessa  cum  venere  uti 
Possem :   "  Deprensi  non  hella  est  fama  Trehoni,  '* 
Aiebat    "Sapiens  vitatu  quidque  petitu 
Sit  melius  causas  reddet  tibi:  mi  satis  est  si 
Traditum  ab  antiquis  morem  servare  tuamque, 
Dum  custodis  eges,  vitam  famamque  tueri 
Incolumem  possum ;  simul  ac  duraverit  aetas 
Membra  animumque  tuum  nabis  sine  cortice.  "    Sic 

me 
Formabat  puerum  dictis ;  et  sive  jubebat 
Ut  facer  em  quid:     *'  Habes  auctorem  quo  facias 

hoc;  " 
Unum  ex  judicibus  selectis  objiciebat ; 
Sive  vetabat:  "An  hoc  inhonestum  et  inutile  factu 
Necne  sit  addubites,  flagret  rumore  malo  cum 
Hie  atque  ille?   Avidos  vicinumfunus  et  aegros 
Exanimat,  mortisque  metu  sibi  parcere  cogit ; 


Introductory  illustration  to  the  fifth  Satire,  from  the  celebrated 
Gurninger  Horace,  Strasburg,  1498.  Portraits  of  Maecenas 
and  of  the  three  friends  who  joined  Horace  at  Sinuessa. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  33 

My  very  good  father  brought  me  up  to  avoid  vices 
by  showing  me  examples  when  he  would  teach  me  to 
live  modestly  and  frugally,  and  content  with  what  he 
could  himself  supply  me.  "  Do  you  not  see  ",  he 
would  say,  "  how  wretchedly  the  son  of  Albius  lives 
and  the  impoverished  Barrus?  " — great  wamings  that 
one  should  not  wish  to  waste  the  paternal  estate. 
When  he  would  deter  me  from  the  shameful  love  of  a 
courtesan  :  "  Do  not  become  like  Sectanus  " ,  he  said. 
That  I  might  not  follow  dissolute  women  when  I  could 
indulge  legitimate  passion  he  would  say :  "  The  repu- 
tation of  Trebonius  caught  in  the  act  is  not  good. " 

"  The  philosopher  " ,  he  said,  "  may  give  you  better 
reasons  than  I  what  things  are  to  be  avoided  or  sought 
after  " .  It  is  enough  for  me  to  inculcate  the  habits  and 
traditions  of  our  fathers  and  to  preserve  your  life  and 
reputation  while  you  are  yet  in  need  of  a  guardian. 

When  age  has  strengthened  your  body  and  mind 
you  can  swim  without  a  cork  (  nahis  sine  cortice).  So 
he  formed  me  a  boy  with  his  instructions  ( sic  me 
formabat  puerum  diciis).  And  if  he  bid  me  do  some 
good  action  :  "  You  have  an  example  for  doing  this  " , 
and  instanced  one  of  the  select  judges.  Or  if  he  for- 
bade me :  "  Do  you  hesitate  whether  or  not  this  is  a 
dishonest  and  useless  thing  to  do,  when  this  and  that 
man  are  branded  with  evil  reputation  through  doing 
it  ?  "  As  the  funeral  of  a  neighbor  frightens  the  intem- 
perate invalid  and  obliges  him  to  take  care  of  himself 


34  Horace :   Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Sic  teneros  animos  aliena  opprohria  saepe 
Absterrent  vitiis. "   Ex  hoc  ego  sanus  ah  illis 
Pemiciem  quaecunque  ferunt,  mediocribus  et  quis 
Ignoscas  vitiis  teneor ;  fortassis  et  istinc 
Largiter  abstulerit  longa  aetas,  liber  amicus, 
Consilium  proprium;  neque  enim  cum  ledulus  aut 

me 
Porticus  excepit  desum  mihi.     " Rectius  hoc  est: 
Hoc  faciens  vioam  melius :  Sic  dulcis  amicis 
Occurram :  Hoc  quidam  non  belle :  numquid  ego  illi 
Imprudens  olim  faciam  simile?  "    Haec  ego  mecum 
Compressis  agito  labris ;  ubi  quid  datur  oti 
Illudo  chartis.    Hoc  est  mediocribus  illis 
Ex  vitiis  unum ;  cui  si  concedere  nolis, 
Multa  poetarum  veniat  manus,  auxilio  quae 
Sit  mihi  (  nam  multo  plures  sumus  ),  ac  veluti  te 
Judaei  cogemus  in  hanc  concedere  turbarrh 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  35 

through  his  fear  of  death,  so  the  opprobrium  that  has 
fallen  on  others  often  deters  tender  minds  from  vices. 
By  this  kind  of  teaching  I  was  kept  free  from  those 
things  which  bring  ruin  to  character,  though  I  confess 
to  petty  faults  and  those  which  you  will  condone,  and 
perhaps  a  longer  experience  or  a  candid  friend  and 
good  counsel  will  largely  free  me  from  these.  For  in- 
deed when  my  couch  or  my  house  receives  me  I  am  not 
without  these  thoughts :  This  is  the  more  commenda- 
ble act ;  doing  this  1  shall  live  more  happily  and  in  this 
1  shall  meet  my  friends  agreeably.  A  certain  man  has 
done  a  thing  not  well.    Shall  I  do  like  him? 

I  agitate  these  things  with  myself  with  compressed 
lips.  When  1  have  any  leisure  1  amuse  myself  with  my 
writings.  This  is  one  of  those  lesser  faults  which  if  you 
will  not  forgive  I  will  call  a  great  band  of  poets  to  my 
help,  for  indeed  we  are  more  numerous  than  you  think 
and  like  the  Jews  we  will  compel  you  to  come  over 
to  our  party. 


The  Appian  Way,  along  which  the  journey  began.  This 
read  was  constructed  B.  C.  312,  and  finally  was  extended  as 
far  as  Brundisium.  Horace  followed  it  as  far  as  Beneventum. 


"  Minus  eat  firaoia  Appia  tardis  " 


L.  6 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  37 


HORACE'S  TRIP  TO  BRINDISIUM 

THE  RFTH  SATIRE  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK 

Horace's  story  of  his  trip  to  Brindisium  has  much  interest  as 
a  description  of  the  local  conditions  and  methods  of  travel  at 
this  time.  The  Satire  has  no  great  literary  or  poetic  merit,  but 
it  must  have  been  good  reading  to  his  contemporaries,  who 
understood  the  allusions  and  jests.  It  was  written  about  B.  C. 
3  7,  when  Horace  was  twenty-eight  years  old.  The  trip  was 
made  in  the  Sprbg,  and  it  took  him  seventeen  days  to  cover 
the  distance  of  about  three  hundred  miles.  He  traveled  by  mule 
or  horseback  for  the  most  part,  but  he  spent  one  night  on  a  canal 
boat  and  one  day  in  a  post-chaise.  He  started  from  Rome  with 
one  companion,  Heliodorus,  a  Greek  rhetorician ;  three  days 
later  he  met  Maecenas,  Varius,  Virgil  and  other  friends. 

The  object  of  Horace's  trip  was  no  doubt  to  give  compan- 
ionship to  Maecenas,  who  was  going  with  Cocceius  and  Fon- 
teius  to  try  and  anange  a  reconciliation  between  Augustus  and 
Anthony.  Of  this  serious  side  to  the  excursion,  Horace  wisely 
says  little. 

Maecenas  took  with  him  a  retinue,  including  two  scurrae  or 
parasites.  These  men  were  allowed  to  sit  at  the  table  with  the 
other  guests,  and  in  return  were  expected  to  amuse  the  com- 
pany with  jokes  and  horse-play,  of  which  a  specimen  is  given. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Horace  had  a  fine  sense  of  humor.  But 
how  the  performances  of  Sarmentus  and  Messius  could  be  amus- 
ing it  is  impossible  for  one  at  the  present  day  to  understand. 
Nevertheless,  he  says :  "  Prorsus  jucunde  coenam  produximus 
illam}    "  We  spun  out  that  supper  very  pleasantly." 


38  Horace :  Quintus  Hor alius  Flaccus 

The  special  skill  of  the  Satirist  is  shown  to  us  in  the  ingenious 
way  in  which  the  author  moves  along  from  incident  to  incident 
day  by  day  without  making  a  monotonous  chronicle.  In  two 
lines  he  is  at  Aricia  in  a  modest  inn,  sixteen  miles  from  Rome. 
Then  he  reaches  the  Forum  Appii,  twenty-three  n;iles  further, 
where  he  has  experiences  with  the  canal  and  its  boatmen,  and 
after  a  bad  night  is  at  the  temple  of  Feronia  —  seventeen  miles 
further  on  —  in  three  days,  and  only  twenty-five  lines.  So  he 
trips  along  with  incident  and  comment,  reaching  Brindisium  in 
one  hundred  and  five  lines,  thus  ending,  he  says, "  his  long  paper 
and  long  journey." 

A  great  deal  of  patient  study  has  been  put  upon  the  geogra- 
phy of  his  route,  and  we  are  enabled  to  map  it  out  now  with 
accuracy. 

The  road  from  Rome  to  Brindisium  was  described  by  Sir 
R.  Colt  Hare  in  his  "  Classical  Tour  through  Italy ",  London, 
1819. 

He  was  accompanied  by  an  artist.  Carlo  LabruzzI,  who  made 
a  series  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  drawings,  most  of  which 
have  not  been  published.  The  views  here  reproduced  were 
taken  from  the  copy  of  a  folio  work  privately  printed  at  Rome 
in  1 8 1  6  for  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  and  presented  to  Lord 
John  Townsend.  The  plates,  eighteen  in  all,  were  made  by 
Riepenhausen,  P.  Parboni,  Morel,  A.  Testa,  Balza,  and  C. 
Frommel.  Some  account  of  these  engravings  as  well  as  of  the 
painters  has  been  kindly  furnished  me  by  Mr.  A.  E.  M.  Paff, 
of  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston. 

An  introductory  plate  to  this  Satire  gives  the  portraits  of 
Virgil,  Maecenas,  Plotius  and  Varius,  taken  from  an  edition  of 
Horace  published  in  1 498,  with  the  commentary  of  Jacob 
Locher.  It  is  an  edition  printed  from  a  manuscript  newly  discov- 
ered in  Germany  and  is  widely  known  as  the  Gurninger  Horace. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  39 


Persons  of  the  Satire 
Horace 

Heliodorus,  a  Greek  rhetorician. 
Maecenas,  agent  and  friend  of  Augustus,  who  entertained  the 

travelers  at  Claudium. 
Cocceius 

Fonteius  Capita,  agent  and  friend  of  Antony. 
Anfidius  Luseus,  a  silly  praetor  of  the  town  of  Fundi. 
Muraena,  a  friend — later  brother-in-law  of  Maecenas — who 

entertained  the  party  at  his  house  in  Formiae. 
Plotius     ) 
Varius      )      Literary  friends  of  Horace 


Virgil  ) 
Sarmentus 
Messius 


Parasites 


40  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 


Egressum  magna  me  excepit  Aricia  Roma 
Hospitio  modico ;  rhetor  comes  Heliodorus, 
Graecorum  longe  doctissimus ;  inde  Forum  Appi, 
Differtum  nautis  cauponihus  atque  malignis. 
Hoc  iter  ignavi  divisimus,  altius  ac  nos 
Praecinctis  unum ;  minus  est  gravis  Appia  tardis. 
Hie  ego  propter  aquam,  quod  erat  deterrima,  ventri 
Indico  helium,  coenantes  haud  animo  aequo 
Exspectans  comites.  Jam  nox  inducere  terris 
Umbras  et  caelo  diffundere  signa  parahat; 
Turn  pueri  nautis,  pueris  convicia  nautae 
Ingerere.    Hue  appelle  !    Trecentos  inserts :  ohe 
Jam  satis  est  I   Dum  aes  exigitur,  dum  mula  ligatur, 


The  Forum  of  Applus,  a  town  about  forty-three  miles  from 
Rome,  where  Horace  arrived  on  the  second  day.  The  Apos- 
tle Paul  stopped  here  more  than  half  a  century  later.  (Acts, 
xxviii,  15  ) 

It  was  on  the  Pontine  Mars^h,  and  through  this  a  canal  had 
been  cut  to  the  temple  of  Feronia,  a  distance  of  nineteen 
miles.  Here  Horace  boarded  a  canal  boat  and  passed  the 
night  much  annoyed  by  the  mosquitoes  and  frogs. 


' '  Mali  culices,  ranaeque  pulastres 
Aoertunt  somnos.  " 

L.  13 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  41 


Leaving  magnificent  Rome  I  reached  Aricia,  stop- 
ping at  a  fairly  good  inn.  Heliodorus,  the  rhetorician, 
by  far  the  most  learned  of  the  Greeks,  went  with  me. 

From  Aricia  we  went  to  the  Appian  Forum,  a 
place  crowded  with  sailors  and  surly  inn-keepers. 
Being  leisurely  travelers,  we  divided  this  trip  into  two 
stages.  It  is  only  one  day  for  those  better  tucked  up 
for  travel.  We  took  the  Appian  way,  which  is  the 
easier.  At  the  Appian  Forum,  as  the  water  was  most 
execrable,  I  proclaimed  war  against  my  stomach  and 
waited  without  much  patience,  while  my  companions 
dined.  Soon  the  night  began  to  open  its  shadows  over 
the  earth  and  to  display  the  constellations  in  the  sky. 
Then  our  servants  started  to  quarrel  with  the  boatmen, 
the  boatmen  v^th  the  servants.  "  Pull  in  here"  I  "  You 
are  overloading  it  a  thousand  times  ".  "  Hold  on — 
you  have  enough  already  " .  By  the  time  the  fare  had 
been  collected  and  the  mule  harnessed,  a  whole  hour 


42  Horace :  Quintus  Horaiius  Flaccus 

Tola  ahit  hora.    Mali  culices  ranaeque  palustres 
Avertunt  somnos,  absentem  ut  cantat  amicam 
Multa  pTolutus  vappa  nauta  atque  viator 
Certaiim.     Tandem  fessus  dormire  viator 
Incipit,  ac  missae  pastum  retinacula  mulae 
Nauta  piger  saxo  religat  stertitque  supinus. 
Jamque  dies  aderat,  nil  cum  procedere  lintrem 
Sentimus,  donee  cerebrosus  prosilit  unus 
Ac  mulae  nautaeque  caput  lumbosque  saligno 
Fusie  dolat :  quarta  vix  demum  exponimur  hora. 
Or  a  manusque  tua  lavimus,  Feronia,  lympha. 
Milia  tum  pransi  tria  repimus  atque  subimus 
Impositum  saxis  late  candentibus  Anxur. 
Hue  venturus  erat  Maecenas  optimus  atque 
Cocceius,  missi  magnis  de  rebus  uterque 
Legati,  aversos  soliti  componere  amicos. 
Hie  oculis  ego  nigra  meis  coUyria  lippus 
Illinere.    Inter ea  Maecenas  advenit  atque 
Cocceius  Capitoque  simul  Fonteius,  ad  unguem 
Factus  homo,  Antoni  non  ut  magis  alter  amicus. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  43 

was  passed.  The  troublesome  mosquitos  [  mali  culices\ 
and  the  frogs  in  the  meadows  kept  me  from  sleeping. 
Meanwhile,  our  boatman  (who  was  soaked  with 
much  bad  wine)  and  one  of  the  passengers,  sang  in 
turn  of  his  absent  sweetheart.  The  passenger  finally 
grew  weary  and  went  to  sleep ;  then  the  lazy  boatman 
fastened  the  tackle  to  a  rock  and  sent  his  mule  to  feed 
while  he  lay  down  and  snored  supinely.  When  the 
day  approached  and  we  saw  that  the  boat  had  made 
no  progress,  an  angry  passenger  jumped  ashore  and 
with  a  willow  cudgel  whacked  both  mule  and  boat- 
man over  the  head  and  back. 

At  last  and  with  difficulty  we  reached  the  temple  of 
Feronia  at  ten  o'clock,  where  we  washed  our  faces  and 
hands  in  thy  spring,  O  goddess. 

Then  having  dined,  we  crept  along  three  miles  and 
reached  Anxur,  a  town  built  on  rocks  which  shine 
brightly  in  the  distance. 

Maecenas  was  to  meet  me  here  and  the  most 
worthy  Cocceius,  both  being  sent  as  ambassadors  con- 
cerning important  affairs,  and  both  skilled  in  reconciling 
friends  at  variance.  Here,  on  account  of  sore  eyes,  I 
was  obliged  to  spread  black  ointment  upon  them. 
Meanwhile  Maecenas  arrived  with  Cocceius  and  Fon- 
teius  Capito,  a  man  of  perfect  accomplishments  [  f actus 
ad  unguem  and  a  friend  of  Anthony, — no  one  more 
so. 

We  then  reached  and  quickly  passed  Fundus,  where 


44  Horace :  Quintus  Horaiius  Flaccus 

Fundos  Aufidio  Lusco  praetor e  lihenter 
Linquimus,  insani  ridentes  praemia  scribae, 
Praetextam  et  latum  clavum  prunaeque  hatillum. 
In  Mamurrarum  lassi  deinde  urhe  manemus, 
Murena  praehente  domum,  Capitone  culinam. 
Postera  lux  oritur  multo  gratissima ;  namque 
Plotius  et  Varius  Sinuessae  Virgiliusque 
Occurrunt,  animae  quales  neque  candidiores 
Terra  tulit  neque  quis  me  sit  devindior  alter. 
O  qui  complexus  et  gaudia  quanta  fuerunt ! 
Nil  ego  contulerim  jucundo  sanus  amico. 
Proxima  Campano  ponti  quae  villula,  tectum 
Praebuit,  et  parochi  quae  debent  ligna  salemque. 
Hinc  muli  Capuae  clitellas  tempore  ponunt. 
Lusum  it  Maecenas,  dormitum  ego  Virgiliusque  ; 
Namque  pila  lippis  inimicum  et  ludere  crudis. 
Hinc  nos  Cocceii  recipit  plenissima  villa 
Quae  super  est  Caudi  cauponas.    Nunc  mihi  paucis 
Sarmenti  scurrae  pugnam  Messique  Cicirrhi, 
Musa,  velim  memores,  et  quo  patre  natus  uterque 


Capua,   where  Maecenas  played   tennis  while  Horace  and 
Virgil  took  a  nap. 


Muli  Capuae  clitellas  tempore  ponunl. 

L.  47 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  45 

we  smiled  at  the  display  of  Aufidius  Luscus,  the 
"  praetor  ",  a  crazy  clerk  who  put  on  all  his  insignia 
of  office,  his  purple-bordered  toga,  the  senatorial  stripe, 
and  burned  a  pan  of  incense. 

Then  being  weary,  we  stayed  at  the  city  of  Mam- 
urrae,  Murena  giving  us  lodging  and  Capito  entertain- 
ment. 

The  next  day  came  and  was  much  the  most  delight- 
ful of  our  trip,  for  Plotius,  Varius  and  Virgil  met  us  at 
Sinuessa.  The  world  never  bore  whiter  souls  than 
these  ;  nor  was  anyone  ever  more  devoted  to  them  than 
myself.  How  warm  our  embraces,  and  how  deep  our 
delight ! !  While  1  have  my  reason,  I  esteem  nothing 
so  much  as  a  congenial  friend. 

The  little  city  near  the  bridge  of  Campania  next 
offered  us  a  roof  and  the  Commissaries  furnished  us,  as 
is  their  duty,  with  wood  and  salt. 

Hence  our  Mules  bore  us  in  good  time  to  Capua 
where  Maecenas  went  to  play  tennis,  Virgil  and  I  to 
take  a  nap,  for  playing  ball  is  not  good  for  sore  eyes 
and  a  bad  digestion. 

Thence  we  went  to  the  magnificent  villa  of  Coc- 
ceius  lying  just  beyond  the  inns  of  Caudium. 

And  now,  O  Muse,  1  beg  you  to  relate  in  a  few 
words,  the  story  of  the  contest  between  the  two  buf- 
foons, Saramentus  and  Messius  Cicirrus.  And  tell  me 
from  what  fathers  were  these  bom  who  entered  the 
lists  ?  Messius  was  of  the  brilliant  race  of  the  Oscians  ! 


46  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Contulerit  lites.   Messi  clarum  genus  Osci; 
Sarmenti  domina  exstat :  ah  his  majoribus  orti 
Ad  pugnam  Verier e.    Prior  SaYmenius :    "  Equi  te 
Esse  feri  similem  dico.  "   Ridemus,  et  ipse 
Messius  "  Accipio, "  caput  et  movet    "  O,  tua  cornu 
Niforet  exsecio  frons,"  inquit,  "  quid  faceres,  cum 
Sic  mutilus  miniteris?  "  At  illifoeda  cicatrix 
Setosam  laevi  frontem  turpaverat  oris. 
Campanum  in  morbum,  infaciem  permulta  jocatus, 
Pastorem  saltaret  uti  Cyclopa  rogabat  : 
Nil  illi  larva  aut  tragicis  opus  esse  cothurnis. 
Multa  Cicirrhus  ad  haec :  Donasset  jamne  catenam 
Ex  voto  Laribus,  quarebat ;  scriba  quod  esset, 
Nihilo  deter ius  dominae  jus  esse.    Rogabat 
Denique  cur  unquam  fugisset,  cui  satis  una 
Farris  libra  foret  gracili  sic  tamque  pusillo. 
Prorsus  jucunde  coenam  produximus  illam. 
Tendimus  hinc  recta  BeneVentum,  ubi  sedulsus  hospes 
Paene  macros  arsil  dum  turdos  versat  in  igni; 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  47 

Sarmentus  was  a  slave  and  his  mistress  still  lives  and 
owns  him.  Sprung  from  such  ancestry  they  began  the 
contest. 

And  first  Sarmentus  says : 

"  I  declare,  Messius,  you  look  like  a  wild  horse*" 

"  I  admit  it  ",  says  Messius,  and  shakes  his  head. 

"  What  could  you  not  do  " ,  adds  Sarmentus,  "  if  you 
still  had  that  horn  on  your  forehead  when  you  are  so 
terrible  without  it?" 

For  his  hairy  face  was  disfigured  by  an  ugly  scar  due 
to  a  wen  that  had  been  removed.  So  Sarmentus 
joked  him  about  this,  asking  him  to  do  a  Cyclopean 
dance,  saying,  "  With  such  a  face,  you  do  not  need  a 
mask  or  tragic  buskins." 

Messius  retorted  briskly  to  these  merry  jests  :  "  Have 
you  ",  he  asked,  "  yet  offered  your  slave-chains  to  the 
household  gods,  according  to  your  vow  ? "  "  Although 
you  are  now  a  clerk,  Sarmentus,  the  rights  of  your 
mistress  over  you  are  no  less  good." 

Finally  he  asks :  "  Why,  Sarmentus,  did  you  ever 
run  away  when  to  supply  so  slender  and  graceful  a 
person  as  you  a  pound  of  bread  a  day  would  be 
enough?"  On  the  whole  we  spun  out  that  supper 
most  agreeably. 

Thence  we  went  straight  to  Beneventum,  where  our 
anxious  host  almost  burned  us  up  while  he  was  roast- 
ing some  lean  thrushes  before  the  fire.  For  the  cinders, 
falling  on  the  old  kitchen  floor,  the  wandering  flames 


48  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Nam  vaga  per  veterem  dilapso  flamma  culinam 
Volcano  summum  properahat  lambere  tectum. 
Convivas  avidos  coenam  servosque  timentes 
Tum  rapere,  atque  omnes  restinguere  velle  videres. 
Incipit  ex  illo  monies  Apulia  notos 
Ostentare  mihi,  quos  torret  Atabulus  ei  quos 
Nunquam  erepsemus  nisi  nos  vicina  Trivici 
Villa  recepisset,  lacrimoso  non  sine  fumo, 
Udos  cumfoliis  tamos  urente  camino. 
Hie  ego  mendacem  stultissimus  usque  puellam 
Ad  mediam  noctem  exspecto:  somnus  tamen  aufert 
Intentum  veneri;  tum  immundo  somnia  visu 
Nocturnam  vestem  maculant  ventremque  supinum. 
Quattuor  hinc  rapimur  viginti  et  milia  rhedis, 
Mansuri  oppidulo  quod  versu  dicere  non  est, 
Signis  perfacile  est :  venit  vilissima  rerum 
Hie  aqua ;  sed  panis  longe  pulcherrimus,  ultra 
Callidus  ut  soleat  humeris  portare  viator; 
Nam  Canusi  lapidosus,  aquae  non  ditior  urna 
Qui  locus  a  forti  Diomede  est  conditus  olim. 
Flentihus  hinc  Varius  discedit  maestus  amicis. 
Inde  Rubos  fessi  pervenimus,  utpote  longum 
Carpentes  iter  et  factum  corruptius  imbri. 
Postera  tempestas  melior,  via  pejor  ad  usque 
Bari  moenia  piscosi;  dein  Gnatia  Lymphis 


Region  of  the  City  and  Inns  of  Caudium,  about  twenty  miles 
from  Capua,  where  they  were  entertained  in  the  Villa  of 
CocceiLS. 


' '  Hinc  nos  Cocceii  recipit  plenissima  villa. 
Quae  super  est  Caudi  cauponas. 

L.  50 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  49 

quickly  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  roof.  You  should 
have  seen  the  hungry  guests  and  frightened  servants 
trying  to  save  their  supper  and  at  the  same  time  put 
out  the  fire. 

From  here  Apulia  began  to  show  me  its  well-known 
mountains  which  the  Atabulus  [  a  hot  wind  ]  scorches 
and  through  which  we  never  could  have  gotten  if  we 
had  not  been  refreshed  at  the  neighboring  village  of 
Trevicum — not  without  much  tear-drawing  smoke 
from  a  fire  made  out  of  wet  brushes  and  leaves. 

Here  I  sat  till  midnight,  and  then  wearied  fell  into 
a  sleep  full  of  exciting  dreams. 

Hence  we  were  taken  along  rapidly  for  twenty-four 
miles  in  post-chaises  to  stop  at  a  little  town  whose 
name  I  can  not  put  in  verse  [  Equotuticum  ],  but  is 
easily  known  by  description ;  for  here  water  is  sold, 
though  it  is  the  worst  in  the  world;  but  the  bread  is 
very  fine,  so  that  the  wise  traveler  is  accustomed  to 
take  some  along  for  his  journey ;  for  the  bread  of  Can- 
usium  is  gritty,  and  there  is  rot  a  pitcherful  of  water 
more  than  in  the  previous  town.  The  city  was  founded 
by  the  valiant  Diomede.  Here  Varius  sorrowfully  left 
his  weeping  friends. 

Thence  we  arrived  very  tired  at  Rubi,  for  we  had 
traveled  a  long  journey,  made  more  difficult  by  the  rain. 
Next  day  the  weather  was  better,  but  the  road  was 
worse,  even  as  far  as  the  walls  of  Barus,  a  town  noted 
for  its  fish. 


50  Horace :  Quintus  Horatim  Flaccus 

Iratis  exstruda  dedit  risusque  jocosque, 

Dum  flamma  sine  ihura  liquescere  limine  sacro 

Persuader e  cupit.   Credat  Judaeus  Apella, 

Non  ego :  namque  deos  didici  securum  agere  aevum, 

Nee  si  quid  miri  facial  naiura  deos  id 

Tristes  ex  alto  caeli  demiiiere  tecio. 

Brundusium  longae finis  chartaeque  viaeque  est 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  51 

We  came  next  to  Gnatia,  a  town  built  amidst 
troubled  waters,  and  a  place  which  aroused  our  jests 
and  laughter ;  for  they  wanted  to  make  us  believe  that 
incense  placed  on  the  sacred  threshold  liquified  with- 
out flame.  The  Jew  Apella  may  believe  it — not  I. 
For  I  have  leamed  that  the  gods  live  a  tranquil  life, 
and  that  if  nature  does  any  wonder,  they  do  not  bother 
to  send  it  down  from  the  roof  of  Heaven. 

Brindisium  is  the  end  of  my  long  letter  and  joumey. 


THE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  original  work  from  which  the  illustrations  here  given  were 
taken  was  a  sumptuous  one,  and  evidently  involved  much  care, 
expense  zmd  knowledge  of  the  artistic  activities  of  the  times  at 
Rome. 

Mr.  A.  E.  M.  Paff,  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  ArU, 
at  the  request  of  Mr.  Paul  Sachs,  was  good  enough  to  investi- 
gate the  biographies  of  the  artists  concerned.  He  writes : 

"  The  biographical  data  confirm  the  conclusions  formed  from 
a  glance  at  the  style  of  the  plates  and  the  date  and  place  of 
their  publication  (  Rome,  1816),  namely  that  the  painters  and 
engravers  who  produced  them  were  living  in  Rome  at  this  time 
and  were  producing  landscapes  and  historical  pictures  in  the 
formal,  conventional  manner  of  Claude  Lonain  and  Poussin. 
Most  of  them  were  proficient  in  the  art  of  their  time  and  would 
scarcely  copy  their  less  distinguished  contemporary,  Labruzzi. 

"  These  anachronous  illustrations  do  not,  and  perhaps  do  not 
pretend  to,  reproduce  the  scenes  as  they  appeared  to  Horace, 
but  without  attempting  historical  accuracy  simply  depict  the 
towns,  the  ruins,  the  landscape  with  its  accessories,  the  houses, 
boats,  and  even  the  costumes  of  the  people  as  they  were  in 
1 800.  Let  us  take  the  "  Arch  of  Trajan  ",  dedicated  in  114, 
A.  D.,  as  a  case  in  point.  Horace  (  65-8  H  C),  travelling 
along  the  Appian  Way,  no  doubt  passed  Benvenuto,  but  he 
came  by  some  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  too  early  to 
see  this  piece  of  architecture  which  the  compiler  has  included 
as  an  illustration  of  his  route. 

"  Probably  some  of  the  drawings  and  paintings  from  which 
the  engravings  were  taken,  had  been  done  without  any  idea  of 
illustrating  the  Fifth  Satire  of  Horace,  but  the  Duchess  of  Dev- 
onshire found  them  suitable  for  use  in  her  folio  because  they  had 


"^^^j^ 

§i^^^.m 

^ 

^1 

Z 

■3 

--1 

Ig^g 

* 

Aricia  and  its  small  inn  where  Horace  passed  the  first  night. 
It  was  a  small  city  about  sixteen  miles  from  Rome. 


"  Egressum  magna  me  excepit  Aricia  Roma.  " 

L.  1 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  53 

for  subjects  villages  and  bits  of  landscape  along  the  road  from 
Rome  to  Brindisium.  She  might  then  supplement  these  pictures 
with  drawings  commissioned  for  the  particular  purpose. 

"  Perhaps  they  were  all  designed  for  this  publicaton,  the 
Duchess  herself  contributing  the  "  View  of  Sinuessa  ",  but  Her 
Grace  would  hardly  lack  other  material,  for  there  was  hardly  a 
village,  a  ruin,  or  a  seaport  round  about  Rome  which  the  mul- 
titude of  painters  of  classical  landscapes  had  not  drawn  or 
painted  again  and  again. 

"  The  introductory  text  of  the  folio  does  not  contain  definite 
information  as  to  how  and  from  whence  the  illustrations  were 
collected,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  designers  of  them  drew 
their  material  directly  from  nature." 


A  WALK  AND  TALK  IN  ROME 
B.  C  34 

THE  NINTH  SATIRE  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK 

Horace's  humor  is  at  its  best  in  this  satire  which  is  sometimes 
called  The  Story  of  the  Bore.  In  it  he  tells  of  his  meeting  on 
the  Sacred  Way  an  importunate  gentleman  who  insists  on  con- 
tinuing his  society  and  presses  our  poet  with  personal  questions. 
No  one  has  told  of  experiences  of  this  kind  with  so  fine  a  touch 
or  so  much  dramatic  skill,  though  many  in  all  ages  have  suffered 
under  them.  The  story  should  be  read  aloud  with  good  elocu- 
tion to  get  its  values.  Perhaps  Howes's  poetic  version  will  sound 
better  than  this  one.  The  satire  is  read  easily  and  has  been  trans- 
lated and  imitated  by  many. 

Horace  is  takmg  a  stroll  along  the  Sacred  Way  ;  one  of  the 
most  famous  streets  of  Rome.  It  was  not  a  long  street,  reaching 
from  the  Esquiline  Hill,  near  where  the  Colosseum  of  Vespasian 
was  later  erected,  entering  the  southeast  side  of  the  Forum  and 
ending  at  the  Capitol.  (  See  Map.)  The  distance  was  less  than 
a  mile.  The  street  was  lined  with  temples  and  public  buildings 
and  at  this  period  with  the  booths  of  merchants. 

When  Horace  reached  the  Forum  he  passed  the  Temple  of 
Vesta  near  which  was  the  tribunal  of  the  praetor  upon  whom  his 
companion  is  obliged  to  attend.  The  Forum  as  it  looked  in 
Horace's  time  at  this  point  is  shown  on  another  page. 

The  Sacred  Way  was  a  kind  of  Fifth  Avenue  of  Rome. 
It  was  in  the  Forum  and  along  the  Sacred  Way  that  processions 
moved  (  Sat.  I,  6,  44  )  : 


56  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 

At  hie  si  plostra  ducenta, 
Concurrantque  foro  iria  funera  magna,  sonabit, 
Comua  quod,  vincatque  tubas. 
For  in  the  Forum  should  two  hundred  wains 
Encounter  with  rude  shock  three  funeral  trains 
So  strong  —  so  clear  is  his  Stentorian  bawl 
He'd  silence  hoof  and  horns  and  trumpets  all. 
Poets  recited  verses  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum  (Sat.  I, 
4.  75.  76): 

In  medio  qui 
Scripta  foro  recitent,  sunt  multi. 
I  grant  that  some,  less  delicate,  there  are. 
Who  spout  their  poems  in  the  public  square. 
Citizens  promenaded  there  (  Epod.  IV,  7  )  : 
Sacram  metiente  te  viam 
Cum  bis  trium  ulnarum  toga, 

Cneus  Pompius  Menas 
Pacing  the  Sacred  Street  with  pompous  stride 
Robed  in  a  toga  more  than  three  yards  wide. 

The  only  persons  in  the  Satire  are  Horace  and  his  bore  (  who 
has  been  thought,  probably  wrongly,  to  have  been  the  poet 
Propertius  )  and  Arislius  Fuscus,  an  intimate  friend  to  whom  he 
addressed  Ode  I,  22  and  Epistle  I,  1 6. 

Ibam  forte  via  Sacra,  sicut  meus  est  mos, 
Nescio  quid  meditans  nugarum,  totus  in  illis  : 
Accurrit  quidam  notus  mihi  nomine  tantum, 
Arreptaque  manu,  "  Quid  agis,  dulcissime  rerum?  " 
*'  Suaviter  ut  nunc  est,  "  inquam,  "  et  cupio  omnia 
quae  vis. 


The  Bay  of  Sinuessa  where  Horace  met  Maecenas. 


"  Plotius  et  Varius  Sinuessat  occurmnl  Virgiliuaque.  " 

L.  40 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  57 


As  I  was  strolling  along  the  Sacred  Way,  thinking 
as  I  usually  do  about  some  poetic  trifle,  and  very  much 
taken  up  therewith,  a  certain  person  whom  I  knew  by 
by  name  ran  up  to  me  and  seized  me  by  the  hand. 

"  How  are  you,  my  dearest  fellow, "  he  says. 

"  Pretty  well, "  I  reply,  "  as  times  go,  and  I  wish  for 


58  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Cum  assedaretur :  " Num  quid  vis?  "  occupo.    At 

aie, 

"  Noris  nos/'   inquit;    **  Jocti  sumus."  Hie  ego, 

"Pluris 
Hoc,  **  inquam, "  mihi  eris.  "  Miser e  discedere  quae' 

rens 
Ire  modo  ocius,  inierdum  consisiere,  in  aurem 
Dicere  nescio  quid  puero,  cum  sudor  ad  imos 
Manaret  talos.   O  te,  Bolane,  cerebri 
Felicem!  aieham  tacitus;  cum  quidlihet  (lie 
Garriret,  vicos,  urbem  laudaret    Ui  illi 
Nil  respondebam,  '' Misere  cupis,"  inquit,  "abire; 
Jamdudum  video ;  sed  nil  agis ;  usque  tenebo ; 
Persequar :  hinc  quo  nunc  iter  est  tibi?"  "Nil  opus 

est  te 
Circumagi;  quendam  volo  visere  non  tibi  notum; 
Trans  Tiberim  longe  cubat  is  prope  Caesar  is  hortos. " 
"  Nil  habeo  quod  agam  et  non  sum  piger ;   usque 

sequar  te  " 
Demitto  auriculas  ut  iniquae  mentis  asellus. 
Cum  gravius  dorso  subiit  onus.  Incipit  ille : 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  59 

you  everything  you  desire. "  As  he  kept  on  beside  me, 
I  add,  "  Is  there  anything  you  want?" 

"  Why,"  he  says,  "  you  surely  know  me.  I  am  a 
man  of  letters  like  yourself. " 

To  this  I  say,  "  You,  of  course,  are  the  more  to  me 
on  that  account." 

Anxious  to  get  rid  of  him,  I  begin  to  go  faster,  and 
then  to  stop  and  whisper  something  I  know  not  what, 
in  my  boy's  ear.  Meanwhile  I  begin  to  fret,  the  sweat 
runs  down  to  my  ankles  and  I  say  to  myself :  "  O  Bo- 
lanus,  if  only  I  had  your  happy  brain !  " 

But  the  fellow  keeps  chattering  on  about  anything 
that  comes  to  his  mind,  praising  now  the  streets  and 
now  the  city.  I  say  nothing ;  whereupon  finally  he 
breaks  out. 

"  I  see  you  want  very  much  to  get  away,  but  it  is 
of  no  use.  I  really  must  keep  by  you,  so  where  is  your 
course  ? " 

"  There  is  no  need  for  you  to  go  out  of  your  way, " 
I  say ;  "  I  am  going  to  visit  a  friend  whom  you  do  not 
know.  He  is  sick  in  bed,  a  long  way  across  the  Tiber 
near  the  Gardens  of  Caesar." 

"  Well,  I  have  nothing  to  do,  I  am  not  lazy,  and  I 
will  follow  you  all  the  way." 

Then  I  just  drop  my  ears,  like  a  bad-tempered  ass 
when  he  has  had  put  on  him  a  burden  heavier  than 
usual.  He  begins  again  : 


60  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

*'  Si  bene  me  novi  non  Viscum  pluris  amicumy 
Non  Varium  fades ;  nam  quis  me  scrihere  plures 
Aut  citius  possit  versus?  quis  membra  movere 
Mollius  ?  Invideat  quod  et  Hermogenes  ego  canto. 
Inierpellandi  locus  hie  erat :  "  Est  tibi  mater, 
Cognati,  quis  te  salvo  est  opus?" — " Haud  mihi 

quisquam. 
Omnes  composui."  —  Felices!  nunc  ego  resto. 
Confici;  namque  instat  fatum  mihi  triste  Sabella 
Quod  puero  cecinit  divina  mota  anus  urna : 
Hunc  neque  dira  venena  nee  hosticus  auferet  ensis 
Nee  laterum  dolor  aut  tussis  nee  tarda  podagra ; 
Garrulus  hunc  quando  consumet  cunque ;  loquaces 
Si  sapiat  vitet  simul  atque  adoleVerit  aetas. 
X)entum  erat  at  Vestae  quarta  jam  parte  diet 
Praeterita,  et  casu  tunc  respondere  vadato 
Debebat,  quod  ni  fecisset  perdere  litem. 
"  Si  me  amas,  "  inquit,  "  paulum  hie  ades.  "  **  Inter- 

eam  si 
Aut  valeo  stare  aut  novi  civilia  jura; 
Et  propero  quo  scis.  "  "  Dubius  sum  quid  faciam, " 

inquit, 


Canusium,  once  a  large  city.     Here  the  bread  was  gritty  and 
the  water  scarce.  Varius  left  in  tears. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  ReadeTs  61 

"  If  I  know  myself  well  you  will  not  make  Viscus  or 
Varius  more  of  a  friend  to  you  than  I.  For  really, 
who  can  write  more  verses,  or  in  a  quicker  time  ?  Who 
can  dance  better  than  I,  and  I  can  sing  in  a  way  to 
make  even  Hermogenes  envious." 

Here  I  found  a  chance  to  interrupt : 

"  Have  you  not  a  mother  or  relations  who  can  take 
an  interest  in  these  talents  of  yours  ?  " 

"  Not  a  soul,"  he  says,  "  I  have  buried  them  all." 
(  "  They  are  lucky,"  I  mutter.)   "  I  alone  remain." 

Well,  dispatch  me!  Now  I  see  the  sad  fate,  predicted 
for  me  when  I  was  a  boy,  by  a  Sabine  fortune-teller 
after  she  had  shaken  the  magic  urn :  *  No  dreadful 
poison  or  hostile  sword,  shall  carry  you  off,  or  pleurisy 
or  cough,  or  the  lingering  gout ;  but  some  day  a  fool 
talker  shall  destroy  you.  If  wise,  you  will  shun  the 
loquacious  as  soon  as  you  have  grown  up.' 

We  reached  at  last  the  temple  of  Vesta,  a  quarter 
of  the  day  having  passed.  By  chance  he  was  held  in 
bail  and  was  bound  now  to  put  in  an  appearance  at 
court,  or  lose  his  case. 

"  If  you  love  me,"  he  says,  "  give  me  here  a  little 
help." 

"  May  I  die,"  says  I,  "  if  I  am  strong  enough  to 
stand  through  a  trial,  and  besides,  I  know  nothing  of 
civil  law.  I  am  in  a  hurry,  as  you  know,  to  pay  my 
visit." 


62  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

"  Tene  relinquam  an  rem. "  "  Me  sodes.  "  "  Non 

faciam  "  die; 
El  praecedere  coepit.  Ego  ut  contendere  durum  est 
Cum  victore  sequor.    "  Maecenas  quomodo  tecum  ?" 
Hinc  repetit ;  "  paucorum  hominum  et  mentis  bene 

sanae ; 
Nemo  dexterius  fortuna  est  usus.   Haheres 
Magnum  adjutorem  posset  quiferre  secundas, 
Hunc  hominem  Velles  si  tradere ;  dispeream  ni 
Suhmosses  omnes."  "Non  isto  vivimus  illic 
Quo  tu  rere  modo;  domus  hac  nee  purior  ulla  est 
Nee  magis  his  aliena  malis ;  nil  mi  officii  unquam, 
Ditior  hie  aut  est  quia  doctior ;  est  locus  uni 
Cuique  suus."  "Magnum  narras,    vix  credibile!" 

"Atqui 
Sic  hahet.  **  "  Accendis,  quare  cupiam  magis  illi 
'Proximus  esse."    "  Velis  tantummodo:    quae  tua 

virtus, 
Expugnabis ;  et  est  qui  vinci  possit,  eoque 
Difflciles  aditus  primos  hahet "  "  Haud  mihi  deero: 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  63 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  do,"  he  says,  "  to  leave 
you  or  my  suit." 

"  Me,  by  all  means, "  I  say. 

"  I  will  not  do  it, "  says  he,  and  he  began  \o  go  on. 
It  is  impossible  to  fight  when  you  are  beaten ;  so  I  fol- 
low. Then  he  speaks  again  : 

"  How  do  you  and  Maecenas  get  on?"  Maecenas 
is  a  man  of  few  friends  and  of  most  sound  judgment. 
No  one  has  dealt  with  fortune  more  adroitly. 

"  You  would  have  a  great  help  in  one  who  could 
play  a  second  part ;  if  you  would  but  present  him  to 
me,  may  1  die  if  you  would  not  supplant  everyone 
else. " 

"  We  do  not  do  things  there  quite  as  you  suppose. 
There  is  no  home  purer  than  his,  nor  any  establish- 
ment more  a  stranger  to  such  evils  as  you  suggest.  It 
makes  no  difference  to  me, "  I  say,  "  whether  this  man 
is  richer  or  that  he  is  more  learned  than  I,  and  every- 
one has  his  own  place." 

"  You  are  telling  me  a  great  story,  scarcely  credible. " 

"  But  so  it  is. " 

"  You  excite  me  now  all  the  more  to  wish  to  be 
next  to  him." 

"  If  you  really  wish  it,  such  is  your  merit,  you  will 
doubtless  succeed  ;  for  he  is  a  person  who  can  be  won ; 
but  on  that  account  he  makes  the  first  approaches  to 
him  difficult." 


64  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Muneribus  servos  corrumpam ;  non  hodie  si 
Exclusus  fuero  desistam ;  tempora  quaeram, 
Occurram  in  triviis,  deducam.  Nil  sine  magno 
Vita  labore  dedii  morialihus. "  Haec  dum  agii,  ecce 
Fuscus  Arisiius  occur  rit,  mihi  car  us  ei  ilium 
Qui  pulchre  nosset.   Consistimus.    Unde  venis  ?  et 
Quo  tendis?  rogat  ei  respondei.    Vellere  coepi 
Et  prensare  manu  lentissima  brachia,  nutans, 
Distorquens  oculos,  ut  me  eriperet   Male  salsus 
Ridens  dissimulare:  meum  jecur  urere  bilis. 
"  Certe  nescio  quid  secreto  velle  loqu  te 
Aiebas  mecum. "   "  Memini  bene,  sed  meliore 
Tempore  dicam ;  hodie  iricesima  sabbata :  vin  tu 
Curtis  J  udais  oppedere?"  "Nulla  mihi,  inquam, 
Religio  est."  "At  mi;  sum  paulo  infirmior,  unus 
Multorum;  ignosces;  alias  loquar.  "  Huncine  solem 
Tam  nigrum  surrexe  mihi!  Fugit  improbus  ac  me 


Atch  of  Trojan,  at  Brneventum,  a  town  near  Caudhim,  where 

the  inn  caught  fire. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  65 

"  I  shall  not  let  myself  fail ;  I  will  buy  up  his  ser- 
vants ;  if  I  am  shut  out  today,  I  will  try  again.  1  will 
wait  for  the  right  moment ;  I  will  trail  after  him. "       \ 

"  Life  has  given  nothing  to  mortals  without  great 
labor." 

While  he  is  going  on  in  this  way,  we  meet  my  good 
friend,  Fuscus  Aristius,  who  knows  my  talker  thor- 
oughly. So  we  stop.  "  Where  have  you  been,  and 
what  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  he  asks.  I  began  to  twitch 
his  cloak  slyly  and  grasp  his  most  unresponsive  arm 
with  my  hand,  nodding  and  distorting  my  eyes,  to  the 
end  that  he  might  deliver  me. 

But  he,  with  malicious  cunning,  laughs  and  pretends 
not  to  notice  it. 

I  became  very  angry,  the  bile  burned  in  my  liver. 

"  Surely  you  said  you  wanted  to  speak  to  me  about 
something  in  private  ? " 

"  I  remember  well,  but  I  will  tell  you  about  it  at  a 
better  time.  Today  is  the  Sabbath,  and  you  would 
not  offend  the  circumcised  Jews?" 

"  1  have  no  religious  scruples, "  I  say. 

"But  I  have ;  I  am  one  of  the  many  who  are  a 
little  more  sensitive.  You  will  pardon  me  ;  I  will  speak 
of  our  matter  another  time. " 

To  think  that  so  black  a  cloud  should  come  over 
my  sun !  The  impudent  fellow  flees  and  leaves  me 
under  the  knife  again. 


66  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 

Sub  cuUro  linquit.   Casu  venit  obvius  illi 
Adotrsarius  et:  "Quo  tu  turpissime?"  magna 
Inclamat  voce;  et  "Licet  antestari?"  Ego  vero 
Oppono  auriculam.   Rapit  in  jus ;  clamor  utrinque; 
Undique  concur sus.   Sic  me  servavit  Apollo. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  67 

Just  then,  by  chance,  his  adversary  at  law  came  up 
and  saw  him.  He  shouts  in  a  loud  voice,  "  You  in- 
famous fellow,  where  are  you  going  ?  May  I  call  him 
as  a  witness?"  I  readily  assent.  He  drags  him  into 
court.  There  is  a  clamor  on  both  sides  as  the  parties 
rush  together  from  all  quarters. 

So  Apollo  saved  me. 


After  a  day  of  storm,  and  another  of  good  weather  and  bad 
roads,  Horace  reached  Bari,  noted  for  its  fish. 


' '  Poslera  tempestas  melior,  via  pejor  ad  usque 
Bari  moenia  piscosi. 

L.% 


HORACE'S  FRIENDS 

AND  THE  ART  OF  WRITING  FOR  THEIR 
PLEASURE 

THE  TENTH  SATIRE  OF  THE  HRST  BOOK 

Horace  wrote  the  tenth  Satire  when  he  was  about  thirty  and 
had  been  back  in  Rome  hardly  more  than  five  or  six  years.  He 
had  already  written  some  odes,  but  the  three  books  were  not 
yet  published.  It  is  rather  remarkable  that  this  young  man  should 
have  already  secured  so  many  important  friends  and  attained 
such  a  position  as  a  writer  as  is  indicated  in  this  satire.  The  poem 
was  written  about  30  B.  C. 

There  is  no  short  piece  of  ancient  poetic  literature  so  full  as 
this  of  names  of  persons  of  influence,  position  or  literary  fame  in 
their  day  ;  or  one  which  mentions  so  many  of  the  earlier  and 
standard  classic  writers  of  Rome.  The  Satire  is  intensely  per- 
sonal and  intimate  and  it  sounds  as  if  read  before  some  literary 
society  of  the  time,  as  it  probably  was. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  group  the  people  of  the  Satire  and 
thus  get  a  general  perspective  of  the  persons  about  whom 
Horace  spins  his  hexameters.  They  consisted,  first,  of  certain 
earlier  and  standard  Roman  writers ;  then  of  later  and  contem- 
porary poets  and  dramatists,  statesmen,  lawyers,  military  com- 
manders, and  Horace's  enemies  and  critics ;  and  finally  there 
were  his  friends  and  patrons. 

He  dwells  especially  on  his  predecessor  in  Latin  writing, 
Lucilius,  and  tries  to  defend  himself  for  having  said  unpleasant 


70  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

things  of  that  poet  in  a  previous  work  (  Sat.  I,  4  ).  Horace  in- 
troduces Lucilius  again  in  Satire  II  and  evidently  he  has  him  a 
good  deal  on  his  mind. 

Lucilius  was  born  over  seventy-four  years  previously  and 
flourished  two  generations  earlier.  He  was  an  original  and 
forcible  writer,  his  works  gained  high  repute,  and,  as  Horace 
admits,  he  invented  the  Roman  satire.  Lucilius  was  a  man  of 
position,  a  Roman  knight,  who  served  in  the  army  under  Scipio 
Africanus,  and  was  a  friend  both  of  Scipio  and  his  associate 
commander  Laelius.  Thus,  Lucilius  had,  like  Horace,  the  back- 
ing of  prominent  men  of  affairs.  He  was  an  important  man, 
therefore,  personally,  socially  and  as  a  writer.  He  wrote  about 
thirty  books,  mostly  Satires,  and  Cicero  said  that  he  had  the 
old  Roman  humor,  urbanitas,  in  the  highest  perfection.*  But  his 
chief  characteristic  was  his  bitter,  violent  and  often  personal 
satire. 

Horace's  discussion  of  the  merits  of  Lucilius  leads  him  to  speak 
of  other  ancient  writers.  These  were : 

Accius  (B.  C.  I  70),  a  Roman,  tragic  poet  and  writer 

of  historical  annals  in  verse. 
Q.  Ennius  (  B.  C.  239  —  1 69  ),  the  most  distinguished 
Roman  poet  of  his  time  and  called  the  Father 
of  Roman  Song. 
Livius  Andronicus  (  circ.  B.  C.  240  ),  a  freedman  who 
wrote  comedies  and  tragedies  and  whose  works 
were  popular  as  school  books. 
Naevius  (  circ.  B.  C.  230  ),  author  of  comedies,  tragedies, 
an  epic  and  satires.    He  was  thrown  into  prison 
for  satirizing  the  Metelli  family. 

*  An  edition  of  the  fragments  of  Lucilius  was  collected  and  published  by 
Douza,  1593,  and  was  republished  by  Lemani,  Paris,  1830. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  71 

M.  Pacuvius,  a  tragic  poet  and  nephew  of  Ennius.  He 

was  also  a  good  painter.  He  had  three  wives 

who  all  hung  themselves  from  the  same  tree. 

His  married  friend  Attius  asked  for  a  slip  of  the 

same  tree  to  put  in  his  own  garden. 

All  these  men  were  more  or  less  established  contributors  to 

Latin  literature  and  were  read  and  studied  as  such  at  the  time 

of  Horace.  We  have  only  fragments  of  their  works. 

Incidentally  he  refers  to  a  group  of  later  or  contemporary 
poets  and  play  writers,  speaking  of  them  critically  or  satirically. 
Among  these  are : 

C.  L.  Calvus  (  B.  C.  82  —  47),  a  distinguished  lyric 
poet  and  orator.  Ovid  called  him  a  licentious 
writer. 
Cassius,  an  Etrurian  poet  of  whom  nothing  is  known 

except  that  he  was  a  rapid  and  poor  writer. 
C.  V.  Catullus  (B.  C.  87  —  47),  one  of  the   major 
poets  of  the  time  and  the  earliest  of  the  Roman 
lyric  poets. 
M.  Bibaculus  Furius  Alpinus  (  circ.  B.  C.  1 04  ).  He 
was  a  bombastic  poet  who  sang  of  the  snow  on 
the  Alps  as  "  the  spittle  of  Jove." 
Laberius  (circ.  B.  C.  104  —  43),  a  Roman   knight, 
writer  of  mimes  and  farces.  Caesar  once  com- 
pelled him  to  act  one  of  his  own  mimes.    In- 
tensely offended,  he  introduced  a  prologue  in 
which   he   resents   his   humiliation   and  says : 
^Necesse  est  multos  timeat  quern  multi  timent.' 
Pitholeon,  or  Pittiolaus,  was  a  foolish  poet  of  Rhodes 
who  wrote,  according  to  Horace,  some  silly  epi- 
grams, possibly  defamatory  of  Caesar. 


72  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 

He  introduces  several  important  and  contemporary  lawyers 
and  orators : 

Pedius  Publicola. 

M.  V.  Messala  Corvinus,  distinguished  also  as  a  states- 
man and  general. 
He  refers  to  a  certain  Petillus,  a  historic  character  accused  of 
stealing  the  golden  crown  from  the  statue  of  Jove  on  the  Cap- 
itol. 

He  names  and  characterizes  some  of  his  professional  brethren 
and  contemporary  critics  in  a  rather  modern  way. 

Faunius  is  "  the  impertment  ( ineptus )  parasite  of  the 
singer  Tigellus." 

Pantilius,  he  calls  "  the  bug  "  (  cimex  )  . 
Furius  Bibaculus  is  "  the  fat  minstrel  of  the  Alps." 
Demetrius  "  that  contemptible  ape "  (  iste  simius  )  . 
Davus  and  Chremes  were  stock  characters  in  Roman 

comedy. 
Arbuscula  was  a  popular  actress. 
Finally  we  have  a  list  of  his  personal  friends  and  admirers, 
upon  whose  judgment  and  approval  he  is  content  to  rest  his  case. 
These  friends  include  men  who  were  poets,  historians,  tragedi- 
ans, military  men,  lawyers  and  statesmen.  Here  is  the  list : 
Macaenas  statesman 

P.  Virgil  poet 

L.  Varius  poet 

T.  Valgius  Rufus  poet  (  Ode  II.  9  ) 

Aristius  Fuscus  poet,  orator,  grammarian  (  Ode 

1.22) 
C.  Asinius  Pollio  poet,    historian,    and    general 

(Ode  II,  1) 
Messala  lawyer,  orator  and  general 


Brundisium,    on    the   coast   of    Calabria,    forty    miles    from 
Egnatia,  the  end  of  his  long  trip  and  long  story. 


' '  Brundisium  longae  finis  chartaeque  viaque  est. 

L.  104 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers 


73 


Pedlus 
Plotius  Tucca 

Octavianus 
L.  C.  Bibulus 
Viscus 


Servius 

Furnius 

C.  Fundanius 


lawyer  and  brother  of  Messala 

epic  poet  and  a  man  of  '"anima 

candissima  " 

poet  and  historian 

an  old  army  friend 

a  Roman  knight,  father  of  two 

senators  who  were  poets  and 

critics 

a  Roman  knight  and  learned 

grammarian 

historian  and  friend  of  Augustus 

writer  of  comedies  ( Sat.  II  8  ) 


As  time  went  on  Horace  mentions  some  twenty  more  of 
his  friends,  but  the  group  he  had  assembled  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  was  surely  creditable  to  his  talent  and  personality. 


74  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 


Nempe  incomposito  dixi  pede  currere  versus 

Lucili.   Quis  tarn  Lucili  fautor  inepte  est 

Ut  non  hocfateatur?  At  idem  quod  sale  multo 

Urbem  defricuit  charta  laudatur  eadem. 

Nee  tamen  hoc  trihuens  dederim  quoque  cetera ;  nam 

sic 
Et  Laheri  mimos  ut  pulchra  poemata  mirer. 
Ergo  non  satis  est  risu  diducere  rictum 
Auditoris  (  et  est  quaedam  tamen  hie  quoque  virtus  ). 
Est  brevitate  opus,  ut  currat  sententia  neu  se 
Impediat  verbis  lassas  onerantibus  aures ; 
Et  sermone  opus  est  modo  triste  saepe  jocoso, 
Defendente  vicem  modo  rhetoris  atque  poetae, 
Interdum  urbani,  parcentis  viribus  atque 
Extenuantis  eas  consulto.   Ridiculum  acri 
Fortius  et  melius  magnas  plerumque  secat  res. 
llli  scripta  quibus  comoedia  prisca  viris  est 
Hoc  stabant,  hoc  sunt  imitandi;  quos  neque  pulcher 
Hermogenes  unquam  legit  neque  simius  iste 
Nil  praeter  Calvum  et  doctus  cantare  Catullum. 
*'  At  magnum  fecit  quod  verbis  Graeca  Latinis 
Miscuit.  "  O  seri  studiorum!  quine  putetis 
Difficile  et  mirum  Rhodio  quod  Pitholeonti 
Contigit?  "At  sermo  lingua  concinuns  utraque 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  75 


It  is  true  I  have  said  that  the  verses  of  Lucilius  run 
with  a  careless  foot ;  and  what  admirer  is  so  foolish 
as  not  to  admit  this.  But  in  my  same  poem  I  praised 
him  because  he  lashed  the  town  with  great  wit.  I  grant 
him  this  merit,  but  no  other ;  —  or  I  might  as  well  call 
the  farces  of  Laberius  beautiful  poems.  It  is  not  enough 
for  a  writer  to  stretch  the  jaws  of  his  hearers  with 
laughter  ( though  there  is  merit  in  this ) .  He  must 
have  brevity,  the  sentence  must  run  smoothly,  not  im- 
peding itself  with  words  weighing  on  tired  ears.  He 
must  have  a  style  sometimes  serious,  sometimes  jocose, 
maintaining  the  part  now  of  a  rhetorician,  now  of  a 
poet,  again  that  of  a  man  of  the  world,  sparing  and 
controlling  his  powers  designedly.  Ridicule  decides 
great  affairs  oftener  and  better  than  invective.  Those 
who  wrote  ancient  comedy  excelled  in  this  and  hence 
deserve  imitation  —  writers  who  were  plainly  never  read 
by  the  beautiful  Hermogenes,  or  that  ass  Demetrius 
who  only  sings  the  songs  of  Calvus  and  Catullus. 

"  But  Lucilius  did  a  great  thing  when  he  mingled 
Greek  with  Latin  words.  " 

"  O  belated  Scholar !  Do  you  think  it  hard  or  won- 
derful to  do  what  was  done  by  Pittiolaus  [  a  third  rate 
poet  ]  of  Rhodes  ?  " 

"  But  when  one  makes  verses,  a  style  which  blends 


76  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

SuavioT,  ut  Chio  nota  si  commixta  Falerni  est.  " 
Cum  versus  facias,  ie  ipsum  percontor,  an  et  cum 
Dura  tihi  peragenda  rei  sit  causa  Petilli  ? 
Scilicet  ohlitus  patriaeque  patrisque,  Latine 
Cum  Pedius  causas  exsudet  Poplicola  atque 
Coroinus,  patriis  intermiscere  petita 
Verba  foris  malis,  Canusini  more  hilinguis  ? 
Atque  ego  cum  Graecos  facerem  natus  mare  citra 
Versiculos,  vetuit  me  tali  voce  Quirinus, 
Post  medium  noctem  visas  cum  somnia  vera : 
"In  silvam  non  ligna  feras  insanius  ac  si 
Magnas  Graecorum  malis  implere  catervas.  " 
Turgidus  A  Ipinus  jugulat  dum  Memnona,  dumque 
Defingit  Rheni  luteum  caput,  haec  ego  ludo. 
Quae  neque  in  aede  sonent  certantia  judice  Tarpa, 
Nee  redeant  iterum  atque  iterum  spectanda  iheatris. 
Arguta  meretrice  potes  Davoque  Chremeta 
Eludente  senem  comis  garrire  lihellos 
Unus  vivorum,  Fundani;  Pollio  regum 
Facta  canit  pede  ter  percusso;  forte  epos  acer 
Ut  nemo  Varius  ducit ;  molle  atque  facetum 
Virgilio  annuerunt  gaudentes  rure  Camenae. 


The  Saires  for  Modern  Readers  77 

two  languages  flows  more  smoothly,  just  as  does  Fal- 
ernian  wine  when  mixed  with  Chian." 

"  I  ask  you :  when  a  difficult  case  like  that  of  Pe- 
tillius  is  to  be  argued,  or  when  Pedius  Publicola  and 
Corvinus  plead  their  causes  against  you  in  Latin, 
would  you  have  them  forget  country  and  father  and  mix 
words  taken  from  foreigners  with  their  native  tongue 
like  a  polyglot  Canusian?" 

When  I  once,  though  born  in  Italy,  tried  to  make 
some  small  Greek  verses,  Romulus,  appearing  to  me 
after  the  midnight  hour  ( when  dreams  come  true ) 
said  to  me : 

"  It  is  just  as  foolish  to  carry  logs  to  the  forest  as 
for  you  to  try  to  add  to  the  great  crowd  of  Greek 
writers. "  So  while  Alpinus  in  Epic  lines  turgidly  stran- 
gles Memnor  or  soils  the  yellow  sources  of  the  Rhone, 
I  amuse  myself  with  these  satires  which  are  not  recited 
for  a  prize  in  the  temple  and  are  not  to  be  acted  again 
and  again  in  the  theatre,  with  Tarpa  judge. 

You,  Fundanus,  are  the  only  one  living  able  to 
write  as  a  comedian  little  pieces  prattling  of  how  the 
artful  courtesan  and  Davus  the  Slave  trick  the  old  man 
Chemes. 

Pollio,  in  a  thrice  struck  measure  [  iambics  ],  sings 
the  deeds  of  kings.  Varius  composes  the  heroic  epic 
as  no  one  else.  The  Muses  rejoicing  in  the  country 
grant  to  Virgil  a  mellow  and  agreeable  strain.    But  it 


78  Horace :  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus 

Hoc  erat,  experto  frustra  Varrone  Alacino 
A  tque  quihusdam  aliis,  melius  quod  scribere  possem, 
InVentore  minor ;  neque  ego  illi  detrahere  ausim 
Haerentem  capiii  cum  mulia  laude  coronam. 
At  dixi  fluere  hunc  luiulentum,  saepe  ferentem 
Plura  quidem  iollenda  relinquendis.   Age,  quaeso, 
Tu  nihil  in  magno  doctus  reprehendis  Homero  ? 
Nil  comis  tragici  mutat  Lucilius  Acci? 
Non  ridei  versus  Enni  gravitate  minores, 
Cum  de  se  loquitur  non  ut  majore  reprensis  ? 
Quid  Vetat  et  nosmet  Lucili  scripta  legentes 
Quarere,  num  illius,  num  rerum  dura  negarit 
Versiculos  natura  magis  factos  et  euntes 
Mollius  ac  si  quis  pedibus  quidclaudere  senis. 
Hoc  tantum  contentus,  amet  scripsisse  ducentos 
Ante  cibum  versus,  totidem  coenatus;  Etrusci 
Quale  fuit  Cassi  rapido  ferventius  amni 
Ingenium,  capsis  quemfama  est  esse  librisque 
Ambustum  propriis  ?  Fuerit  Lucilius,  inquam. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  79 

is  in  the  style  of  the  Satire  ( which  Varro  Atacinus 
and  some  others  tried  without  success  )  that  I  am  able 
to  write  best ;  though  not  perhaps  so  well  as  its  in- 
ventor, Lucilius.  Nor  do  I  design  to  snatch  from  him 
the  Crown  that  clings  to  him  with  so  much  approval. 
I  have  said  that  he  flowed  along  muddily,  often  carry- 
ing more  things  that  should  be  left  out  than  things  that 
should  be  retained. 

Moreover,  I  ask  you  as  a  learned  man,  have  you 
never  found  a  fault  in  great  Homer? 

Does  courteous  Lucilius  alter  nothing  of  the  tragic 
poet  Altius  ? 

Does  he  not  ridicule  the  verses  of  Ennius  as  lacking 
in  dignity,  though  he  speaks  of  himself  as  not  any 
better  than  those  whom  he  criticizes? 

What  should  prevent  me  then,  in  reading  the  poems 
of  Lucilius,  from  inquiring  whether  the  harshness  of  his 
temperament  or  of  his  topics  prevented  his  verses  from 
being  better  made  and  running  more  smoothly  —  just 
as  if  any  one  who  is  content  to  write  any  old  thing  in 
hexameters,  and  nothing  else,  should  be  allowed  to 
pride  himself  on  scribbling  two  hundred  verses  before 
dinner  and  as  many  after.  Such  an  one  as  was  Cas- 
sius,  the  Etrurian,  whose  talent  for  scribbling  was 
more  copious  than  a  running  torrent,  of  whom  the 
story  goes  that  his  funeral  pyre  was  made  of  his  own 
desks  and  writings. 


80  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 

Comis  et  urbanus,  fuerit  limatior  idem 
Quam  Tudis  et  Graecis  intacti  carminis  auctor, 
Quamque  poetarum  seniorum  turha  ;  sed  die. 
Si  foret  hoc  nostrum  fato  dilatus  in  aevum, 
Detereret  sibi  multa,  recideret  omne  quod  ultra 
Perfectum  traheretur,  et  in  versu  faciendo 
Saepe  stilum  Vertas  iterum  quae  digna  legi  sint 
Scripturus,  neque  te  ut  miretur  turba  labores, 
Contentus  paucis  lectoribus.   An  tua  demens 
Vilibus  in  ludis  dictari  carmina  malis  ? 
Non  ego;  nam  satis  est  equitem  mihi  plaudere,  ut 

audax 
Contemptis  aliis  explosa  Arbuscula  dixit 
Men  moveat  cimex  Pantilius,  aut  cruciet  quod 
Vellicet  absentem  Demetrius,  aut  quod  ineptus 
Fannius  Hermogenis  laedat  conviva  Tigelli? 
Plotius  et  Varius,  Maecenas  Virgiliusque, 
Valgius  et  probet  haec  Octavius,  optimus  atque 
Fuscus  et  haec  utinam  Viscorum  laudet  uterque  ! 
Ambitione  relegata  te  dicere  possum, 
Pollio,  te,  Messalla,  tuo  cum  fratre,  simulque 
Vos,  Bibule  et  Servi,  simul  his  te,  candide  Furni, 
Complures  alios,  doctos  ego  quos  et  amicos 


The  Satires  for  Modem  Readers  81 

I  say  that  Lucilius  was  agreeable  and  refined  arid 
more  finished  than  the  earlier  writers  of  verses,  who 
were  crude  and  uninfluenced  by  the  Greeks ;  better 
in  fine  than  the  crowd  of  more  ancient  Latin  poets. 
But  if  he  had  been  reserved  by  fate  to  this  age  he 
would  have  retrenched  himself  and  omitted  all  that 
was  spun  out  beyond  perfect  need ;  in  making  his 
verses  now  he  would  have  scratched  his  head  and  bit- 
ten his  nails. 

You  must  often  turn  the  stylus  [erase]  if  you 
would  write  things  worthy  to  be  read ;  you  should  not 
labor  to  have  the  crowd  admire  you,  but  be  content 
with  few  readers.  Are  you  foolish  enough  to  want 
your  odes  to  be  read  in  petty  schools?  Not  I.  It  is 
enough  for  me  if  the  intelligent  applaud  me,  as  the  ac- 
tress Arbuscula,  who  despised  the  stupid,  boldly  de- 
clared when  she  was  hissed  on  the  stage : 

"  Do  you  think  that  the  clown  Pantilius  can  disturb 
me,  or  that  it  annoys  me  if  Demetrius  lampoons  me 
when  I  am  away ;  or  that  the  foolish  Fannius,  parasite 
of  Hermogenes  Tigellus,  attacks  me?" 

May  Plotius  and  Varius,  Maecenas  and  Virgil, 
Valgus  and  Octavius  and  the  very  good  Fannius  ap- 
prove my  verse  and  each  of  the  Visci  commend  them. 
May  I,  laying  aside  flattery,  name  you,  Pollio,  you, 
Messala,  wath  your  brother  and  at  the  same  time,  you 
Fumius,  and  many  others,  learned  men  and  my  friends. 


82  Horace :  Quintus  Horatus  Flaccus 

Prudens  pra'etereo ;  quihus  haec,  sunt  qualiacunque, 
Arridere  Velim,  doliturus  si  placeant  spe 
Detenus  nostra.    Demetri,  teque,  Tigelli, 
Discipularum  inter  juheo  plorare  cathedras. 
I,  puer,  atque  meo  citus  haec  subscribe  libello. 


The  Satires  for  Modern  Readers  83 

whom  I  prudently  omit.  It  is  to  these  that  I  would 
like  my  verses  such  as  they  are  to  be  agreeable  and  I 
should  grieve  if  they  pleased  less  than  my  hope. 

I  bid  you,  Demetrius,  and  you,  Tigellus,  to  lament 
my  success  amongst  the  halls  of  your  female  disciples. 

Go,  boy,  and  write  this  quickly  in  my  litde  book. 


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